Endangered Legacy
by Lilac Moon
Summary: For the To Protect & Serve Fic-A-Thon. Set 2004-2005 MMPR/Zeo, NS, DT teams centric. An old enemy with a new face seeks revenge on Zordon's chosen, dragging the closely linked DT and NS teams in for the ride. Jason and Billy, now FBI agents, encounter a man with a ranger obsession. Who is he and why does he want revenge on all who have held ranger powers? Full pairing list inside.
1. Part 1 of 6 Twisted Obsession

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban again.

**AN:** This story is for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-thon. This story will focus on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams. Part 1 takes place in fall 2004 and the rest will pick up one year later in 2005.

**AN 2 Please read:** Everything up through Dino Thunder is canon, with the exception that Kimberly never sent the letter to Tommy in this universe. The fiasco on Muranthias did happen. Jason and Kim were rescued and Kim returned to Florida shortly after that to compete in the Pan Globals. After winning gold, she moved back to California and went to college with Tommy. They married while Tommy was getting his PHD in Paleontology. She was present for the events of Dino Thunder but was not a ranger.

**AN 3: **This story is the first in this series and will likely be followed by at least two sequels. However, the first story is being submitted as my entry for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-Thon.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

**Established Pairings:** Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Rocky/Aisha, Adam/Tanya, and Billy/Kat, Dustin/Marah

**Pairings in Progress:** Conner/Kira, Hunter/Tori

Endangered Legacy

Part 1/?

"Twisted Obsession"

_**2004**_

_**Angel Grove**_

"Good evening and thank you for joining us this evening, I'm John Malone," the reporter introduced himself to the camera for news station channel four in Angel Grove.

"And I'm Tanya Park. We have breaking news this evening, as the manhunt for the dangerous and wanted serial killer that boasts the name "Ares" has come to a head. We're going live to our reporter, Jackie Phillips, who is at the scene of the local gym and well known high school hangout where the FBI and Angel Grove police believe they have cornered "Ares" inside," Tanya reported, as the TV studio switched to broadcast from the live cameras at the Gym and Juice Bar.

"_Thanks Tanya, as most know, the name Ares is derived from the Greek God of War. However, the FBI has shed no light on what war this serial killer is trying to wage. I'm Jackie Phillips and I have with me, Detective Rocky Desantos of the Angel Grove Police Department," _the female reporter said to the distracted looking detective.

"_Detective Desantos, what can you tell us and how did the FBI trace the suspect to this location?"_ the reporter asked.

"_As you know, Ms. Phillips, the man we're dealing with is severally unhinged and has raped and murdered eighteen women that we know of. Special agent Scott and his team caught a break earlier this evening when the suspect escalated and made a careless error, allowing the FBI to track him. Details are sparse at this time, but we're hoping to have the suspect in custody soon," _Rocky informed.

"_We'll keep in touch with you Detective, thank you and back to you, John and Tanya," _Jackie stated, as the camera panned back to the studio.

"Thank you Jackie," Tanya thanked, as her co-anchor took over with another story.

"In other news, the autopsy results on billionaire business mogul Emmanuel Chavik revealed no foul play. The cause of death was confirmed by the coroner to be a massive heart attack. His wife of two years, Sabrina Chavik, declined our interview, asking that the public respect her privacy in this time of grief. With no children, Mrs. Chavik is the sole heiress to her husband's fortune," John continued…

* * *

Victor Goldman, better known to the public as Ares, switched off the television in the darkened youth center. The teen hangout had changed several hands over the years and even became different types of establishments, but ultimately returned to its roots as a gym and juice bar under new ownership a few years ago. He smirked, as he felt the presence of the one he was looking forward to facing.

"Lingering in the shadows is not really your style, SSA Scott," Victor hissed. Special Agent Jason Lee Scott emerged from the shadows and leveled his gun at the sociopath.

"End of the line, Goldman," Jason stated. Victor chuckled evilly and turned to face him.

"You are as good as they say you are, but then why wouldn't you be? All those years of hard training have paid off," Victor goaded.

"You gave us a good chase. I've been after you for three years. Never did get the name Ares though. It's a little generic, don't you think?" Jason asked. Goldman smirked.

"Still trying to profile me?" Victor asked.

"It's kind of what I do. So tell me, why rape and kill innocent young women? What war does that represent?" Jason asked. Victor chuckled.

"Innocent? Oh no, Agent Scott. The women that my victims represent are hardly innocent," Goldman hissed.

"So there are others you're really after," Jason concluded.

"You have no idea," Victor drawled.

"Doesn't matter, this is over. On your knees and put your hands where I can see them," Jason ordered.

"Oh, it's very far from over and aren't you curious as to why I led you here?" Goldman asked.

"You didn't lead me here. You finally made a mistake and our technical agent tracked you," Jason refuted. Victor chuckled in amusement.

"Ah yes, your colleague, the esteemed special agent and multiple PHD bearer, Dr. William Cranston," Victor stated. Jason glared at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this. The guy was all over the map. Every time they thought they had a profile nailed down for him, he changed M.O. or did something completely opposite of what the profile suggested.

"I know everything there is to know about you, agent Scott and everything there is to know about Dr. Cranston as well for that matter. And when I say everything…I mean everything…" he hissed, looking Jason straight in the eye. Something about this man's eyes had haunted him since the moment he started hunting him, but he could never put his finger on why.

"I study your kind and I don't mean FBI agents when I say that. I know about every single one of you…even Tommy's newest batch in Reefside. Oh, forgive me, I guess it's Dr. Oliver now," Victor said. Jason lowered his gun just slightly, as his eyes widened in surprise. But he quickly regained his composure and leveled his weapon at the man's head. He turned his earpiece off with a small press and switched it so only Billy would be picking him up.

"So…what? You killed all those women to get the attention of the power rangers? That's a little off target, you know. Rangers deal with the more alien variety of scum and you're human, so you fall into my jurisdiction now," Jason spat.

"Yes…humans, I guess that is what I am," Victor said, though his tone bore disappointment that confused the first red ranger of Earth.

"Listen…the time for your games is over. Put your hands where I can see them now. You're under arrest!" Jason demanded. Victor chuckled.

"And if I refuse?" Victor questioned.

"Then you'll provoke me into shooting you, but trust me, I'm a good enough shot that I can take you down without killing you," Jason promised. Victor chuckled, unnerving Jason even more.

"Care to share the joke, because I hardly see anything funny," he snapped.

"Your cluelessness is highly amusing, but you're right, I too am tiring of this little game. It's time to end it," Victor stated.

"Fine, then put your hands up. Don't make me ask again," Jason spat. Victor laughed again.

"That's not the kind of end I'm talking about," he hissed, as he grabbed a hidden gun from behind the bar.

"Put the weapon down!" Jason screamed.

"Make me, red ranger," Victor hissed. Jason's eyes widened in surprise again, as he called him out. And with his refusal to drop the gun, Jason ended it by putting a bullet in Goldman's forehead. The murderer fell to the floor like a dead weight and the former red ranger loomed over him. And just like that, this three-year-old case that had haunted him, stolen sleep from him, and taken up nearly all his time was finally over.

"Billy, did you get all that?" Jason asked into his earpiece.

"_Oh yeah and I'm as baffled as you. But I already erased the parts that expose our pasts from the recording. I've also finally managed to hack through Goldman's entire database and I downloaded it all to the ranger database. Then I wiped it all out," _Billy replied. Jason sighed.

"If our bosses find out…" Jason started.

"_Relax…they won't. I've covered my tracks and logged in as Victor. It makes it looked like he was responsible for wiping his own system clean. Who the hell was this guy, Jase?_" Billy asked.

"I don't know Bill, but we need to find out how much he knew and if anyone else knew about his little ranger obsession. I still have no idea what raping and murdering young women had to do with our pasts as rangers," Jason mumbled.

"_Don't worry, I'm on it. The boss is headed your way," _Billy warned.

"Agent Scott…I assume there was no other means to subdue the subject," the director presumed.

"No Sir, I had him cornered, but he deliberately pulled a weapon and chose suicide by cop instead of coming quietly," Jason reported, as Rocky and his partner entered.

"Nice work, agent Scott," Rocky complimented. Jason allowed a small smile.

"It's thanks to you that you pinned this guy down so quickly when he popped up here, Detective Desantos," Jason said, as the two men slowly walked out of earshot.

"You've got that look," Rocky stated.

"What look?" Jason asked.

"You know what look I mean. We both have an affinity for red, so I know it when I see it," Rocky replied.

"I'll fill you in later," Jason promised.

"But this is over…right?" Rocky asked. Jason sighed.

"I hope so, but if I have to go with my gut, then I would have to say not so fast," Jason replied simply, leaving Rocky behind to ponder his words.

* * *

Billy Cranston typed away on his laptop, completely and utterly fascinated and horrified by his findings in Goldman's database. This man had an obsession with rangers, but he had no idea what connected it to the eighteen rapes and murders he had committed. Sighing and deciding it was probably time to call it a night; he pushed back from the desk. A message invitation blipped in the corner of the screen and he smiled, accepting the video chat invite and welcomed the sight of his beautiful wife on the screen before him.

"_Hey there handsome,"_ Kat Cranston cooed to her husband.

"You really know how to flatter a tech nerd," Billy replied.

"_You are not a nerd. The FBI would be lost without you. Besides, I've seen you fight and you carry a gun, which is clearly not nerdy. You're very cute in fact and your brain is sexy,"_ Kat said playfully. He chuckled.

"I'm glad I'm cute then. How are the girls?" he asked.

"_Full of energy as usual, though they're finally asleep. I meant to call earlier, but after keeping tabs on the news broadcast in Angel Grove online, I knew you wouldn't be able to talk. Guess it's over now though?"_ she asked. He nodded.

"Should be. We'll probably just have odds and ends to tie up and with any luck, I'll be home in Quantico by tomorrow night," he replied. She smiled.

"_Good…I can't wait. We miss you,"_ she said. He smiled.

"I miss you too. Kiss my little angels for me," he requested, as his phone beeped.

"That's probably Jason. He wants to go over a few things to wrap this up," Billy replied. She nodded.

"_Okay…but try not to stay up all night. I love you,"_ she said. He smiled.

"Love you too," he replied, as their video chat ended. Billy texted Jason back and packed up his laptop. He would meet with Jason in their hotel room and go over what he had found. He glanced at the victim board where they had the eighteen young women that had lost their lives in the last four years to this monster. He remembered how Goldman always bragged that the last words each of his victims heard was him saying, "I have the power now." And suddenly realization hit Billy Cranston like a ton of bricks.

"Holy shit…" Billy cursed, as he quickly took down the eighteen photos, stuffed them in his laptop case, and jogged out of the police department and was about to hail a cab when he saw Rocky. The former blue zeo ranger said goodnight to his partner and spotted him.

"Hey Billy…you look like you've seen a ghost," Rocky said.

"Maybe we have. Where's your car?" Billy asked.

"Over there," Rocky said, pointing with confusion.

"Good, you're driving me to the hotel. We need to talk to Jason right away," Billy said.

"Oh crap, I knew it. Jason had that look too. What the hell is going on?" Rocky demanded, as they got in his car.

"I'm not exactly sure yet, but if my hunch is right, then we might have a big problem," Billy responded shortly. Rocky groaned.

* * *

_**An Unknown Location**_

Victor Goldman strode confidently into his hideout, alive and well, with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"You look happy with yourself," a beautiful woman of Asian descent drawled.

"Why shouldn't I be? Jason killed the clone we created and reacted just the way I thought he would. You should be happy too. You're a very rich woman and you're finally rid of that weakling husband," Victor chuckled. She smirked.

"I am and I'll admit, I am enjoying watching you torture Jason Lee Scott. And you're right, his money is ours now. If we have to be cursed to live the rest of our lives on this mud ball, at least we can do it in style now," Sabrina said.

"You should have seen the look on his face when I referred to him as red ranger," Goldman chuckled at the memory.

"That's great and all, but I still don't get why you did all this and where we go from here," she said.

"You've really lost your imagination living as a human, Sabrina," he chided.

"I had to spend two years seducing that bastard of a husband, so explain it to me," she demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" he snapped, as he looked around the room. The walls were papered with photos and surveillance captures of every living ranger that had ever donned armor, the most recent being Tommy Oliver's Dino rangers.

"Zordon cursed me with this human form, that's why!" Goldman roared.

"I am a proud Chimerian warrior in the body of this weak, disgusting human! I can never return to my home planet. The wise and great Zordon thought it would fit me better to become this!" Victor continued to rage, as he poured brandy into a glass, before gulping it down.

"I would have rather been turned to dust with Rito," he growled.

"So you want revenge?" Sabrina asked.

"Zordon isn't here or I would have already shattered that old wind bag's tube myself. But those he loves most are going about their happy little lives. That's about to come to an end. They're going to pay for Zordon's transgressions, every single one of them. When I'm done, there will be nothing but blood left of his legacy," Victor seethed.

"Fine, but what are we going to accomplish with you supposedly dead and us living in this hole?" Sabrina asked.

"We'll accomplish everything if you got what I asked for," Victor replied. Sabrina smirked and produced a long pointed metal staff embellished at the head with a Z.

"Of course I did, how else do you think I came up with a clone of you so quickly," she said.

"I still don't get how this thing wasn't turned to dust with everything else," Sabrina mentioned.

"The staff itself isn't evil. It's only enchanted and its magic belongs to whoever is lucky enough to control it. Did Zedd or that human he is parading as try to stop you from stealing it?" Victor asked. She smirked.

"Of course, but he's gone soft in his human life. I threatened Rita's life and he took me right to the place he had it hidden," Sabrina said.

"Can you believe he actually liked being good?" she asked in disgust. Victor chuckled.

"Zedd is a joke, even before he became human, he was the laughing stock of numerous galaxies. So did the weakling just hand it over?" Victor asked. She smirked.

"Of course not, he insisted on fighting so that's what we did and I pried it from his cold, dead hands," Sabrina replied evilly.

"And the body?" Goldman questioned.

"I dumped it in an alleyway that's well known for gang activity and took his wallet. The stupid police will think it was just a robbery that went bad," she replied indifferently.

"Excellent…now we wait until the dust settles and they drop their guards again. Then, that's where the fun will begin," Goldman said.

* * *

_**Angel Grove**_

"You're seriously freaking me out," Rocky said, as he and Jason watched Billy pin up the photos of each victim in order of their murder.

"Okay, we know the reason that we had so much trouble nailing this guy down was because he was all over the map with his victims. In fact, if he hadn't killed them all in the same exact way, then we might have never connected all the murders to one person," Billy started trying to explain.

"Yeah, he killed at random. A lot of serial killers go for a type, but not always. Some just hate women in general," Jason replied nonchalantly.

"What if his victims weren't random?" Billy asked, looking at them both.

"How do you figure that? I mean, you've got Caucasian, African-American, Asian, blondes, brunettes, black hair…no one was off limits," Rocky pointed out.

"That's what it looks like to anyone else. But if you apply one common denominator that only we might pick up on, there's a very scary pattern," Billy said.

"I'm assuming that you mean rangers by that, but I still don't see where you're going with this," Jason replied, still trying to understand.

"You will," Billy said, as he turned to the wall.

"First victim, Caucasian petite brunette, second victim, Asian, specifically Chinese, third was African American, fourth was a tall, leggy blonde, fifth was another African American, sixth was another Asian woman, followed by another Caucasian with dark blonde hair," Billy said, as he kept pinning something beneath each photo that Rocky and Jason couldn't see yet.

"Eighth was another blonde, who wore glasses, ninth was another brunette, exotic looking, tenth was another blonde, eleventh was an athletic brunette and twelfth was another tall blonde," Billy continued pinning the cards beneath more photos.

"Thirteenth was another petite brunette and fourteenth was another African-American. Fifteenth was a very petite brunette, possibly of partial Asian descent, sixteenth was another blonde, seventeenth was an athletic blonde, and finally eighteenth was a petite girl with dark blonde hair," Billy rambled, as he stepped back from the wall. Jason and Rocky's eyes widened, as they read the names below each photo.

"What the hell…" Rocky cursed.

"You think the pattern is related to every ranger female?" Jason asked in disbelief.

"They were killed in order that each woman served and each victim closely matches the name below her photo in physicality," Billy said.

"But…why? Or more importantly how?" Rocky asked.

"You said this guy knew about our pasts as rangers," Billy said, as he sat down at his laptop.

"He was beyond obsessed with rangers and he knew the identity of every single one of us, even Tommy's new team," Billy stated.

"But why kill all these girls that resemble all ranger females?" Rocky asked.

"To send us a message that he wanted to go after the women that mean the most to most ranger males," Billy explained. Jason looked dumbfounded.

"He wanted to bring us all down…and knew that going after our girls would be the easiest way to get us all in one place and piss us off," Rocky concluded. Billy nodded.

"That's my theory, but fortunately he's dead, so he can't carry out the next phase of his plan, assuming that he thought he could somehow manage it," Billy said. Jason shook his head.

"That still doesn't explain how he knows who every ranger is. I mean, he even knows about Time Force and the Galaxy rangers. Who the hell was he?" Jason said, as he started pacing the room.

"I haven't got a clue. He was surprisingly careful as to not reveal much about himself. What we know about him was a surprisingly mundane life. Somehow, I have a feeling, that he kept most of his real life off the grid," Billy replied.

"But…it's over. He's dead, right?" Rocky asked.

"We've always assumed he worked alone. His profile jumped around all over the place, but never to anything that suggested he had a partner," Jason replied with a shrug.

"There's no way to tell," Billy said.

"All his information is backed up on the grid now and no one can get access to it?" Jason asked.

"Just us," Billy assured. Jason sighed.

"Okay, all this stays out of the official report, of course and we go on like normal, but we remain vigilant. We'll make a detour to Reefside and brief Tommy and Kim on all this before we return to Quantico," Jason decided. Billy and Rocky nodded, thinking they had dodged a bullet. Life would return to normal now that this possible enemy to all rangers was dead…

* * *

_**Reefside**_

Dr. Tommy Oliver parked his jeep in his driveway next to his wife's white convertible and headed inside. Since their move to Reefside, things had been anything but quiet.

"Hey handsome," Kim said, as he came into the kitchen where she was making dinner.

"Beautiful," he whispered huskily, making her giggle. Since he had been freed from the confines of being stuck in his ranger suit or invisible, they had been insatiable for each other, even more than usual. It had been three days since their team up with the Ninja rangers of Blue Bay Harbor and Lothor's defeat. Kimberly was just grateful that Mesagog had been quiet since then and she hoped it stayed that way, though she knew it wouldn't last much longer.

"Smells good, but that's a lot of food. Don't tell me Conner is coming over to eat us out of house and home again?" he asked. She giggled.

"No, but we are having company. Jason actually just called and apologized for the late notice, but he and Billy have time so they're swinging by for a quick visit tonight before they head back to Quantico," Kimberly replied.

"Seriously?" Tommy asked with a grin, as he went to open the fridge.

"Truly," she replied with a smile.

"Is Rocky coming?" Tommy asked.

"I don't think so," she replied.

"Then since when do we buy Jolt Cola?" Tommy asked, but then thought about it for a second.

"Conner," they stated simultaneously.

"I heard on the news that they finally got that guy," he mentioned. She nodded.

"I know, as evil as Mesagog and all the others we've faced are, it's harder when you put a human face on that evil. I'm not sure how Jason and Billy do it for a living," Kimberly said, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's part of who they are and it would probably eat them alive if they didn't have good women behind them, just like I do," Tommy told her. She smiled and their lips met, passion swelling between them.

"I love you," Kimberly whispered. He smiled.

"Love you too beautiful," he whispered back, as their lips met again.

* * *

_**Two hours later**_

"I'm so glad you guys had time to stop by," Kimberly said, as they sat out on the porch. The guys each had a beer and Kimberly opted for a glass of her favorite wine.

"Us too…and I wish it was all casual, but we kind of came to clue you in on something we ran across during the investigation," Jason stated. Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"Something we won't learn from the news reporters?" he asked.

"This is really sensitive information," Billy replied.

"Are you allowed to tell us that kind of stuff?" Kim asked.

"It's not FBI classified, but rather ranger classified," Jason replied. That caught their attention.

"What could a serial killer have to do with the rangers?" Tommy asked. Jason glanced at Billy and he pulled out a disc.

"You have a command center of sorts here?" Billy asked.

"The Dino cave in the basement," Tommy replied.

"Is the security good?" Billy asked. He nodded.

"Hayley's system is top notch. She's almost as good as you," Tommy assured him. Billy nodded, as Tommy and Kim led them down to the Dino cave.

"You two are freaking me out. Most of us haven't been rangers in years, excluding Tommy," Kimberly mentioned.

"We know, that's what's bizarre about it, but Victor Goldman knew who we are, every single one of us, right down to your new team," Jason stated, as Billy pulled up the victim board on the computer after inserting the disk.

"There's no way…how could he?" Tommy uttered. Jason shrugged.

"We don't know, but Billy cracked his victim ology that we couldn't pin down. He murdered a woman that closely resembles each ranger female in order of service," Jason said.

"Oh my God..." Kimberly uttered, as she looked at the young women, right down to the last one, noticing that she did indeed resemble Kira.

"We think he wanted to enact some sort of plan by going after the girls first, thinking it was the easiest and quickest way to get the attention of the ranger males. Fortunately, I just put a bullet in him so the danger is over, but we thought you both should know," Jason stated.

"Somehow this guy got around ranger security of not just one team but all teams, which I find nearly impossible. There's more to this, but with him dead, there are no answers or ways to know if he was working with anyone. I've combed his whole system too and there isn't anything to go on," Billy said, sighing in frustration.

"Okay…this information will go no further and we lock down all this information in the grid," Tommy suggested.

"Already done, we just wanted you in the loop. If we're lucky, then we dodged a bullet today and we'll never have to worry about any of this," Jason said.

"But we'll keep vigilant and I'm going to keep researching," Billy added. Tommy nodded and sighed, hoping they were right. But a small nagging in the back of his mind, his finely tuned instincts told him that this would eventually come back to bite them. Hoping he was being paranoid, Tommy put on his usual confident front and led his wife and friends back upstairs. They lightened the mood, as the reminisced on old times, before Jason and Billy had to head to the airport to return to Quantico.

_**In the next chapter, one year has passed…**_


	2. Part 2 of 6 Ghost

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban again.

**AN:** This story is for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-thon. This story will focus on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams. Part 1 takes place in fall 2004 and the rest will pick up one year later in 2005.

**AN 2 Please read:** Everything up through Dino Thunder is canon, with the exception that Kimberly never sent the letter to Tommy in this universe. The fiasco on Muranthias did happen. Jason and Kim were rescued and Kim returned to Florida shortly after that to compete in the Pan Globals. After winning gold, she moved back to California and went to college with Tommy. They married while Tommy was getting his PHD in Paleontology. She was present for the events of Dino Thunder but was not a ranger.

**AN 3: **This story is the first in this series and will likely be followed by at least two sequels. However, the first story is being submitted as my entry for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-Thon.

Thanks for all the great reviews so far: Here's notes to those individuals:

WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for Goldman and Sabrina, I'll let the story tell it, but I didn't intend for it not to be obvious really. Hang on for the ride. ;)

garnetred: Yeah, I didn't intend to really make their identities much of a mystery since it's more about their plans to torment the rangers. Glad you're enjoying the story. It will be an interesting fight for sure. :)

Harry2: Yeah, as stated above, I didn't intend to make their identities much of a mystery. It's about revenge for them. Glad you like the story.

blueninjettiranger: Glad I hooked you. ;) Yeah, a bit of background on Billy and Kat is in this chapter. :)

MMPRFansince93: Glad you enjoyed it. :)

TommyOliverMMPRFan: Yep, he is potentially more dangerous as a human than he was as an alien.

Pinkrangerfan: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story. :)

**Established Pairings:** Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Rocky/Aisha, Adam/Tanya, and Billy/Kat

**Pairings in Progress:** Conner/Kira, Hunter/Tori

**Mentions:** Dustin/Marah

Endangered Legacy

Part 2/?

"Ghost"

* * *

_**2005**_

_**One year later**_

_**Reefside**_

Kira sat on the bench, her guitar across her lap with a paper and pen beside her. She strummed and sang a few lyrics, before writing down a few things and continuing. Nearby, several children ran around on the soccer field at play, while a young man in red looked over his list on a clipboard. It had been a year since Mesagog's defeat and he had just completed his first year in college, becoming MVP for Reefside University's soccer team and winning the state championship. But his time as a ranger had both humbled him and made him more aware that there was much more to life than soccer. Today was the first day of his soccer camp for kids, age's eight to twelve, and he was excited to be doing something to help kids, especially since many that were signed up were under privileged.

A blue van pulled up and parked nearby. Kira smiled, as she set her guitar aside and went to greet the occupants.

"Hey guys," Kira said, as Hunter, Tori, and a boy she knew must be Charlie got out.

"Hey," Tori replied, as she hugged the other girl. Since they met a little over a year ago, the ninjas had kept in close contact with the Dino rangers, particularly Tori and Kira.

"You must be Charlie," Kira greeted. The boy nodded shyly and waved.

"I'm going to go get him checked in with Conner," Hunter said, as he and Charlie jogged onto the field.

"So, how are things at the Academy, Sensei Hanson?" Kira teased. Tori rolled her eyes.

"The same. Blue Bay's been pretty boring since Lothor, not that it's a bad thing," Tori replied.

"I know what you mean. Reefside's been the same," Kira replied.

"How's the album coming?" Tori asked.

"Slow, but now that classes are over, I plan to spend the whole summer working on it," Kira replied.

"It's really great of Hunter to use his free time to bring Charlie here," Kira mentioned.

"I know, he has such a big heart and Charlie's been through so much. First he lost his dad and then his mom got sick. Hunter knows what it's like to lose your parents and he's really great at keeping him positive. Charlie's mom is responding well to the chemo though," Tori mentioned. Kira smiled at the way her friend glowed when talking about the older Bradley brother.

During her days as a ranger, Tori and Blake seemed that they might have something between them, but Blake left to pursue his career in Motocross. With the distance between them, whatever might have once been there soon fizzled. They were still friends, but Blake had moved on with someone else he met on the tour, another rider, and Tori accepted that, wanting him to be happy.

Unfortunately, neither Tori nor Hunter could see the chemistry and obvious attraction between them. Kira was hoping to give her friends the gentle push they needed, but Conner had refused to help her, stating that he wanted no part of what he called interfering or daresay, matchmaking.

"That's good, I'm glad she's getting better and you're right, he has that whole brooding bad boy with a heart of gold thing down to an art. I'm surprised some girl hasn't come along and snatched him up," Kira mentioned.

"_Oh yeah, that was really subtle there, Kira," _she thought sarcastically. Tori shrugged.

"Girls hit on him all the time, but he never seems interested. I guess I'm kind of glad for that, because the ones that do are always tramps," Tori said. Kira suppressed a knowing smile.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Conner is usually up to his ears in annoying bimbos," Kira grumbled. Tori grinned.

"Jealous?" she teased.

"I would be if he reacted, but he seems really serious about pursuing me," Kira said uncertainly.

"I think it's sweet. He didn't give up until you agreed to go on a date with him," Tori giggled.

"Are you done teasing me?" Kira asked.

"You mean about the fact that you were caught completely off guard that you actually a great time on said date, even though you insisted that you could never date Conner McKnight, King of all Jocks," Tori mocked teasingly. Kira tossed a mock glare at her.

"Maybe I'm not the only one in denial…" she preempted. Tori gave her a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" the blonde asked.

"Uh…duh, how about tall, blonde, and broody over there," Kira replied, indicating the dirty blonde in crimson on the field.

"Me and Hunter? Whatever, we're just friends," Tori protested.

"So you don't think he's attractive?" Kira asked. Tori looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I didn't say that. I mean, he's…handsome, but…" Tori said, suddenly at a loss for words.

"But…" Kira prompted.

"But we're not going there," Tori stated. Kira recognized her tone and let it drop for now.

"Okay, I guess we should go help Conner out with the kids," Kira said, changing the subject.

"How are Dr. and Mrs. O, by the way?" Tori asked. Kira smiled.

"Good, we see them at Hayley's from time to time. Kim just found out she's pregnant," Kira announced.

"That's great! They must be so excited," Tori mentioned. Kira nodded.

"They are ecstatic," Kira replied, as they jogged onto the field.

* * *

_**Zedd's dark dimension**_

"So this is it?" Sabrina asked, looking around, unimpressed. He had been working on this place for a year and the island seemed to be more like a paradise then the supposed deathtrap he was promising.

"Don't be so quick to judge and don't let the scenery fool you," Goldman replied.

"This is Zedd's dark dimension that he was working on creating when Mondo took over?" Sabrina asked. Goldman nodded.

"He pulled out all the stops with this one. I've finished it for him and now our fun begins," Goldman said.

"If it's so horrific, then why does it look like a freaking tropical island?" Sabrina spat.

"Like I said, don't let the scenery fool you. Even if the male rangers do make it to the mansion, they'll never get out," Goldman stated.

"Over the years, I've learned not to underestimate these brats," Sabrina hissed.

"It seems that no matter what you throw at them, they never fail to escape and they never die. What makes you so sure that this is the end of them all?" she asked.

"I will make sure it is this time!" Goldman hissed, as he got a psychotic look in his eye.

"Even if I have to sink into the ocean with this island myself, I'll make sure I take them all with me," Victor snarled. Sabrina's eyes widened. Going down with the ship was not a part of her plan, but she remained calm. She had learned that he definitely wasn't the same warrior he had once been. His time as a human had driven him insane and she knew she would have to wait for the right time to either get rid of him or escape from the island herself.

"It's time now. Are you prepared for the next phase?" Goldman asked.

"I am assuming you mean capturing our bait," Sabrina replied. He nodded.

"The teleportation grid is online. Use it to capture Katherine and Trini first. They live in Virginia and this afternoon is the perfect time to snatch both. Jason and Billy are on a plane thirty-thousand feet in the air right now," Victor stated.

"Fine, you want me to bring them back here?" she asked. He nodded and pulled up a dingy looking cell on the basement level.

"Nice dungeon," she commented.

"After you have those two, grab the newest yellow ranger. I'll handle Kimberly, Aisha, Tanya, and Tori," Goldman stated.

"Fine, then what?" she asked.

"We wait. The others will come for them and even if they make it out of this fortress, the elements and creatures on the island will get them. And if not that, then the island itself will when it sinks into the ocean. They have no zords and there's no way off unless I get them off. End game and I win," Goldman stated.

"Okay, so you kill them all and then what? What happens after we eliminate all rangers that have ever held the power?" Sabrina questioned.

"Then there's no one to oppose us. With Zedd's magic, the sky is the limit," Goldman promised.

* * *

_**Reefside**_

Tommy pulled into his driveway and grabbed the grocery sacks in the passenger seat, before going inside. Kim greeted him with a kiss, as he came into the kitchen. They were both excited for tomorrow, because it was her first ultrasound appointment.  
"Hey beautiful," he whispered in her ear.  
"Hey yourself handsome," she replied, as their lips met tenderly.  
"Oooh...is that my ice cream?" she asked, as she noticed the carton poking out of the sack. He chuckled.  
"Yes and before you ask, I remembered you pickles, chocolate sauce, and peanut butter too," he replied. She let out her cute little cackle, as she opened the ice cream and took a big spoonful, before popping into her mouth. He chuckled at her antics and started putting away the rest of the groceries.  
"Mmmm...I think the baby really likes ice cream," she mentioned.  
"I think you like ice cream," he joked.  
"Are you making fun of me?" she asked playfully. He shook his head.  
"Nah, I've just never seen your eat so much. I think you could give Rocky a run for his money," Tommy joked. She gasped, her mouth dropping open in mock outrage.  
"I'm kidding beautiful. No one eats as much as Rocky and Conner and you are eating for two, after all," he said lovingly, as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. She turned her head and their lips met again, telling him that his joke was forgiven.

* * *

_**Blue Bay Harbor**_

After soccer camp, Tori and Hunter made the thirty minute drive back to Blue Bay Harbor and dropped Charlie off after grabbing some pizza together. Since there was still a few hours of daylight left, Tori wanted to catch a swell or two and Hunter agreed to accompany her to the beach. She had promised all her friends after the incident where she wiped out and ended up in one of Lothor's wacky, twisted alternate dimensions that she wouldn't surf alone.

In the past year, Hunter had been her companion of choice to go with her to the beach and originally it had begun when she offered to teach him how to surf. She was floored when he actually took an interest in learning, as none of the guys, even Blake, had let her teach them how to surf, for more than an hour anyway. Truthfully, Hunter wasn't crazy about surfing, though he now had a much deeper understanding and respect for the risky, difficult sport. But the look on Tori's face when he asked her to teach him had done it for him. To him, seeing her face light up the way it had was worth a million wipeouts.

He was well aware of his growing feelings for her, but knew she would probably never look at him that way, not the way she had looked at his little brother. Blake and Tori's parting had been amicable, as nothing more than a chaste kiss and a good friendship had developed between them. Still, he doubted she saw him as anything other than "one of the guys".

"Hey…" Tori said, finally getting his attention, as she returned from changing into her bathing suit. He was already wearing his trunks with a crimson muscle shirt.

"You were like a million miles away," she mentioned. He gave her a lazy smile.

"Sorry, just thinking," he replied lamely.

"Charlie seemed to have a lot of fun today," she mentioned. He nodded.

"I think he did and I don't think Conner was just being nice when he said Charlie was a natural at soccer," Hunter responded.

"Most thunder Ninja's excel at sports though," she mentioned with a smile, referring to Charlie's recent status as new student at the Thunder academy. The boy's interest in marital arts and difficult personal life reminded Hunter greatly of himself and recognized his potential right away. Talking it over with Charlie's ill mother, she agreed that him attending what Hunter described as very disciplined martial arts classes was a good idea. Charlie, of course, loved learning martial arts even more than playing soccer.

"I'm just happy I can actually stay on my surfboard for more than sixty seconds now," Hunter replied. She smiled.

"You're doing really great. You've picked it up really fast for someone who has only been learning for about a year now. Just think of the looks on the guys faces when you finally show them up. None of them will even touch a surfboard," she complimented.

"It will be kind of fun to rub it in their faces," he agreed, as he pulled off his crimson shirt and picked up his board. And not for the first time in the last year, Tori found herself staring at her friend's toned physique, his years of hard Ninja training obvious, as powerful muscle ripped through his arms, chest, and abs.

"Ready?" he asked, snapping her back to reality. She smiled and grabbed her board, as they headed out into the waves.

* * *

_**Virginia**_

Katherine Cranston parked her car at the grocery store and prepared to head inside. She had about an hour before she needed to pick up the twins from the babysitter and she since trying to take them shopping with her was usually a nightmare, she opted to get it done now. Billy would be home tonight and she planned to make him all his favorites. Kat had her teaching degree and enjoyed the flexibility of substituting while the twins were little and had decided that she wouldn't look for a permanent position until they were in school full time since Billy's salary supported them comfortably.

In high school, she and Billy wouldn't have been two people most would have put together. Most were convinced that Katherine had eyes for Tommy and while she admitted she had a crush back then, she wasn't the type of person to steal someone else's man, least of all Kimberly's.

After passing on the powers and rescuing Kim and Jason from Muranthias, they had parted ways, except Tommy and Kim. She had gone off to a prestigious dance school in New York and dated a few guys in college, but never anything serious became of those relationships. It was by pure chance or fate some may say that she ran into Billy in a huge place like New York City in 1999. He was the last person she expected, especially since he was supposed to be on Aquitar.

Catching up over coffee, she found out that he decided to come home after Astronema's attempted conquest, citing that he and Cestria had broken up and he was severally homesick. Upon returning, he went to school, receiving numerous degrees in record time and instead of using his vast knowledge to make millions, he opted instead to choose a career where he could really help people. Jason had recruited him to the FBI and the bureau was highly impressed by his unprecedented hacking and computer skills. Thanks to his ranger days, he passed the physical training and weapons handling with flying colors and within a year, he was an agent, fast tracked thanks to his skills. His first and long term mission, embedded in a corporation suspected of criminal dealings, lasted two years and by the time the case broke, which resulted in the FBI taking down several of the executives and key proponents, he and Katherine had fallen in love. She was finished with school by that time and in 2001, Billy proposed. They moved to Virginia where the FBI headquarters was located and married in 2002. Their twin girls were born in late 2003 and they named them Carly and Michaela.

Dropping her keys in her purse, Kat started toward the building, her flaxen blonde hair blowing in the breeze. She noticed an elderly woman that was struggling to lift bags out of her cart and into her car. She slowed in concern and was about to continue on when it seemed the woman could handle it when she saw her lose her balance and fall. Katherine jogged over and crouched down.

"Are you okay?" she asked, as she helped the woman up.

"Oh…I'm so clumsy, thank you so much dear," the woman replied. Kat smiled.

"It's no problem. Are you hurt?" Kat asked.

"No…but you're about to be," the woman snarled. Kat's eyes widened, but it was too late, as the woman jabbed a taser into her side. Kat screamed, but she and the woman disappeared in a flash, before anyone could be alerted to her plight.

"_Paging Dr. Kwan-Scott," _the nurse said over the intercom. Trini made her way there, trying to finish her rounds. She was excited since she and Jason had planned to go out for a romantic dinner. He'd been gone for four days on a case in Dallas, along with Billy and his team, but they were due to land at the airport very soon. Their careers, his as an FBI agent and hers as a doctor were very busy, but they found time to be together and she never imagined being so happy, especially with a man that had once been her childhood friend.

"What's going on Stella, you know I'm trying to get out of here," Trini said pleasantly, as she approached the nurse's station.

"I know, but there's a young woman in room 236. She thinks she is pregnant and she's really scared. I think she might be uncomfortable with one of the male doctors, at least that's the vibe I'm getting. I know you're trying to get out of here, but you have such a way with people…" Stella pleaded. Trini rolled her eyes.

"Okay, this shouldn't take too long, but that's it," Trini said, pointing her finer in a teasing manner. Stella chuckled.

"I promise. As far as I'm concerned, you're gone already," Stella replied, as Trini walked into the room, after snatching the chart from the holder outside.

"All right…Ms. Stephens is it?" she asked, noticing the meek looking woman on the exam table. The Asian woman nodded.

"Did you take an at home pregnancy test?" Trini asked.

"Three and they were all positive," she replied, as tears welled in her eyes. Trini put a hand on her arm.

"It's okay, I'm going to do a routine exam, take some blood, and once we find out for sure, we can discuss your options from there," Trini promised, as she averted her eyes to the chart.

"You're very kind," the woman mentioned, making Trini smile.

"It's really too bad," the woman added, making Trini frown slightly in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she felt searing pain in her abdomen, before losing consciousness. The nurses had heard her cry out, but by the time they burst into the room, it was empty.

* * *

_**Angel Grove**_

Aisha Desantos closed the door to her vet clinic that she proudly owned and locked up, before walking to her car. It had been a long, yet another rewarding day for her. After helping the situation return to normal in Africa, Aisha returned to Angel Grove shortly after the Muranthias incident to attend the vet program at Angel Grove University. She immediately reconnected with her best friends, Adam and Rocky. She often saw Adam at the University, but she and Rocky grew close while he was attending the police academy. They married after graduation and now had a three-year-old son they named Jacob.

She was on her way now to pick him up from daycare and hoped that Rocky wouldn't be too late that night. His career demanded long hours, especially with the growth Angel Grove had experienced in recent years. With that growth in size and people naturally came with increased crime. A year ago, his time had been absorbed by the serial killer that made his way to Angel Grove, murdering four women, previously hitting Mariner Bay and a slew of other towns. But despite his long hours, they still managed to make it work and eke out time for each other and with their son. She just prayed there were no more cases like that one.

She unlocked her car and suddenly felt the eerie feeling that she was being watched. She turned and was ready to sink into a defensive stance, as she called out to her surroundings.

"All right, you can come out and show yourself. I know you're there," Aisha called. But nothing prepared her for the man she was now facing.

"You're…dead," she stammered, as she fell into fighting stance. Victor Goldman chuckled.

"A clone is so easily created when you have the right tool…magical tool that is," Goldman said mysteriously.

"So that whole standoff with Jason was a set up then? Mind telling me what exactly you expect to accomplish?" she spat. He chuckled again.

"You'll learn that in due time, little bear, but right now it's time to go," Victor said.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, freak," she spat and he rolled his eyes.

"Why must you all insist in doing this the hard way?" he asked, as she launched at him. He blocked her punches and kicks, before knocking her onto the ground. Her eyes widened, as she saw Zedd's Z staff appear in his hand. She cried out in pain, as he used the sizzling energy to knock her unconscious. He scooped up the petite woman and waved to the security camera, though he kept his back to it the whole time. He knew it would be the first thing Rocky looked at, Once he had her, he disappeared.

* * *

_**Reefside**_

"Freak you out…freak you out…" Kira sang idly, as she strummed her guitar. She was waiting on Conner to finish with his older student's game and then they were going to grab dinner together.

"You're very good," a woman said, as she passed by. Kira smiled.

"Thank you, I'm hoping it will be a career someday," the former yellow Dino ranger mentioned.

"If you don't become famous, then it will be a huge injustice. I'm surprised someone with your talent doesn't have a gig somewhere," the woman mentioned.

"Oh, well I know the owner of Hayley's Cyberspace so I actually have a regular spot there a few times a week. I'm just waiting for my boyfriend right now," Kira explained. The woman gazed out onto the field.

"The one in red?" she asked. Kira nodded.

"Handsome, I bet he'll miss you," the woman sneered. Kira looked at her in confusion, as the woman yanked her to her feet by her arm.

"Let me go!" Kira cried.

"Sorry little songbird, time to sleep," Sabrina hissed, as she used the taser on her neck, dropping her instantly.

"KIRA!" Conner screamed, as he used his super speed to run to her. But Sabrina was ready and launched a blast of red energy. Her magic had been returned to her, thanks to Goldar and the former red Dino ranger went flying back. He landed hard on his side, but that didn't stop him from climbing to his feet.

"Sorry pretty boy, but little miss rock star here is coming with me," Sabrina hissed, as she disappeared with Kira in tow.

"NO!" Conner cried, as he took out his cell phone and dialed Tommy's number.

* * *

_**Angel Grove**_

Tanya Park arrived home and dropped her purse and keys on the table. She sifted through the mail and then headed to the bedroom to change. She and Adam were having Rocky and Aisha over for dinner, along with little Jacob, their Godson, which they often did. She returned to the kitchen later in jeans and a yellow t-shirt and took the meat that was thawing out of the fridge. She started taking things out to make a salad when she heard a noise in the living room.

"Adam…is that you?" she called. When she received no answer, she ventured into the living room and gasped, wondering if she was seeing a ghost. Being a reporter, she had seen this man's face splashed all over the news days after he was supposedly shot by Jason.

"Hello Tanya…you look like you've seen a ghost," Victor hissed, as the former yellow zeo and turbo ranger slowly backed away.

"You're dead…" she whispered in disbelief.

"Magic makes things very easy, like creating a quick clone to take your place when necessary. I'm afraid that I need you to come with me now," Goldman said. Tanya slowly backed away and toppled over a plant to try and obstruct his path, as she ran for the back door. Running out into the backyard, she grabbed a baseball bat near the shed and held it defensively, as Goldman approached calmly.

"Aisha tried to fight me too and things didn't go well for her either. Put down the bat and come quietly. I won't have to hurt you that way," Victor stated.

"Yeah right," Tanya hissed, as she took a swing, but a zap of red energy left his fingers, immobilizing her. She tried to move, but found it impossible. With another zap, Tanya lost consciousness, as Goldman tossed the former yellow ranger over his shoulder, before disappearing.

* * *

_**Reefside**_

Kimberly Oliver clapped, as one of her small students successfully dismounted the balance beam.

"That was great Kristin," she complimented, as another of her students came up to her.

"Ms. Hart, Valerie says there's a concerned parent that wants to speak with you. He's in the reception area," the girl informed. Kimberly nodded.

"Okay girls…take a ten minute break," Kimberly called, as she grabbed her clipboard and headed out into the reception area of her small studio that she owned in Reefside.

"Can I help you Sir?" Kimberly asked, as she saw the man turn. She immediately gasped in horror and then noticed her receptionist Valerie, who was lying behind her desk in a pool of her own blood, throat slashed. Kimberly was about to scream, but the man raised a very familiar looking sword.

"Scream and all your little girls are dead," he warned. Kimberly stifled her scream, as she clasped her hand over her mouth and tears welled in her eyes.

"You're coming with me, pink ranger," Goldman said, as he grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"You recognize my sword…don't you Kimmie?" he hissed, as tears slid down her cheeks.

"You know, I always did have a thing for you and I always wondered what you saw in a fool like Tommy. Maybe we can get…reacquainted later…" he hissed, as he disappeared with her.

* * *

_**Blue Bay Harbor**_

"You were awesome out there!" Tori cheered, as she and Hunter trudged onto the beach from the water.

"It's all your teaching," he complimented.

"Say what you want, but I think that was all you out there, thunder boy," she said, as they plopped down in the sand beside their gear.

"You killed it out there too, like usual," he replied. She shrugged and dried off with her towel.

"Yeah, she wasn't bad…for a chick," one of the surfer guys that frequented the beach commented, intruding on their conversation. Hunter glared at the pair of guys, Jeremy and Lance. They were always harassing her and she could easily handle herself, but that didn't make him want to pound them for disrespecting her any less.

"Walk away dude," Hunter warned. The two chuckled, seemingly not threatened by Hunter.

"What's it to you dirt boy?" Lance goaded, knowing of Hunter's reputation on the motocross track

"Excuse me, I missed the part where we invited you idiots into our conversation," Tori spat. Unfortunately, this only egged them on.

"Sorry babe, but we were just watching your moves out there. You're good, but you'll never be as good as us," Jeremy goaded. The last time he had said something like this to her, she had tromped back into the ocean, leaving him and his buddies behind to laugh at her. But Tori wasn't taking the bait this time.

"Like I'd want to be anything like you or near you for that matter," Tori said shortly.

"Yeah, be our guest and please go catch a wave, preferably one that's far away," Hunter added, making Tori smile. Jeremy scoffed and eased back under Hunter's intimidating stare.

"Forget it Lance, let's get out of here," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, let us know if you get tired of playing with dirt boy. You'd look great on my arm…and in my bed," Lance sneered, as his friend laughed. Faster than they could blink, Hunter was suddenly in front of them, much to theirs and Tori's surprise.

"Listen, unless you want me to crack your heads open and spill out what little brains you have, you'll leave her alone. Don't go near her, don't talk to her, and don't even look at her. If you mess with her, then you'll deal with me," Hunter warned dangerously. Still baffled at how he had moved so fast, the two idiots held up their hands in surrender.

"Fine…freak," Lance spat, as they trekked off. Hunter sighed and turned back to Tori, who was watching him in surprise.

"Sorry…I probably shouldn't have done that," he said, though truthfully, he wasn't sorry for telling them to step off Tori.

"No…they definitely deserved it," she replied, as he sat back down.

"I know, but you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. I know how you hate when we go all "caveman" on you," Hunter said, giving her a half smile, which she returned.

"Usually I do…but sometimes it's kind of nice when someone wants to take care of you. Thanks," she said. He smiled.

"Anytime," Hunter replied. He understood what she meant by that, given her history with her parents. The Hanson's loved their daughter dearly, but they were busy with their careers and traveled a lot. They had left their daughter on her own much of the time during her teen years, always well provided for with plenty of money, but Tori would have been happier living in a cardboard box if it meant being with her parents more. Her independent streak had developed from being left on her own most of the time and it was one of the many things he loved about her.

"It's getting dark…we should probably go," Tori mentioned, breaking the awkward silence between them. He nodded and stood up, extending his hand to help her up. She accepted and he pulled her, their eyes meeting as he did. Time seemed to stop for a moment, as they stared into each other's eyes, before it grew awkward again.

"Um…I'll drive you home," she mentioned, as they packed up their stuff and tossed it in her van.

"Thanks," he replied, as he got into the passenger side. Tori drove the few miles to his apartment complex, which was only a few miles from her parent's beach house.

"See you tomorrow," Hunter called. She smiled and waved, sighing as she watched him go inside, before driving off.

"Get a grip Tori…this is Hunter we're talking about," she mumbled to herself, aware of the stirring feelings inside her.

As she parked her van, she dragged her stuff into the darkened beach house. Her parents were on a trip to Paris this time. Last month it had been business in Seattle and the month before was New York City. Tori dumped her things by the door and padded into the kitchen, turning on the light.

"Hello Ms. Hanson," a deep voice said. Tori screamed, as she saw a man standing there. Falling into a defensive stance, she launched herself at the intruder and found all her kicks and punches being blocked with ease.

"Impressive blue ranger," he chuckled and her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Who are you?" she asked, as she started backing away.

"You'll find out soon enough, but for now, I'll ask you to kindly come with me," Goldman stated calmly. Tori ran and grabbed her cell phone, speed dialing Hunter. Goldman rolled his eyes at her antics and grabbed her around the waist. She screamed and fought, before biting his arm. He growled and threw her into the kitchen table. She crashed painfully and cried out, as she heard Hunter's voice on the other end of her phone.

"_Hello…" _

"HUNTER HELP ME!" Tori screamed, before the man hit her in the head, knocking her out cold.

"_Tori…TORI!" _Hunter cried through the phone.

"Tori is unavailable, crimson ranger," Goldman spoke into the phone.

"_Who are you? What did you do to her?!" _Hunter screamed. Goldman chuckled.

"Red rangers are always so hot headed, especially when it comes to their women. She's mine now and I suspect Dr. Oliver is about as angry as you right now. You might want to call him," Goldman replied, as he dropped the phone and then stepped on it, smashing it to pieces. He slung the unconscious blonde over his shoulder and teleported out…


	3. Part 3 of 6 Revelation

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban again.

**AN:** This story is for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-thon. This story will focus on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams. Part 1 takes place in fall 2004 and the rest will pick up one year later in 2005.

**AN 2 Please read:** Everything up through Dino Thunder is canon, with the exception that Kimberly never sent the letter to Tommy in this universe. The fiasco on Muranthias did happen. Jason and Kim were rescued and Kim returned to Florida shortly after that to compete in the Pan Globals. After winning gold, she moved back to California and went to college with Tommy. They married while Tommy was getting his PHD in Paleontology. She was present for the events of Dino Thunder but was not a ranger.

**AN 3: **This story is the first in this series and will likely be followed by at least two sequels. However, the first story is being submitted as my entry for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-Thon.

Thanks for all the great reviews and here's a few notes to those individuals:

garnetred: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. The other teams won't quite have the roles you might expect in this. That is explained in the chapter. They will appear later, but the main focus is on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams for now.

YellowPrincess: Thank you, that's nice of you to say and I'm glad you're enjoying it.

blueninjettiranger: You're welcome. :) And thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Griddlebone: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. The plot thickens a little in this chapter.

Pinkrangerfan: Yeah, he has a lot of nerve, but that will make sense in this chapter, as they learn who he really is. And don't worry, there are some Hunter/Tori moments ahead in future chapters. :)

MMPRFansince93: Good, glad I hooked you again! Enjoy this installment. :)

Harry2: Yeah, he's using them as bait and the girls are tough, but Goldar has magic again and they have no powers. Not going to be so easy. :)

brankel1: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story.

WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Yeah, well prepare to hate him even more, because he only gets worse from here. :) Glad you're enjoying the story and I'll check out your new chapter when I have time. :)

**Established Pairings:** Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Rocky/Aisha, Adam/Tanya, and Billy/Kat

**Pairings in Progress:** Conner/Kira, Hunter/Tori

**Mentions:** Dustin/Marah

Legacy

Part 3/?

_"Revelation"_

* * *

_**Reefside University**_

_**Dorm room of Ethan James**_

"Dammit Dr. O…answer your damn phone!" Conner screamed, as he paced wildly in Ethan's dorm room at Reefside University.

"Dude…calm down…" Ethan chided. Conner hung up his phone.

"Calm down? Kira is gone!" he cried.

"And you losing it isn't going to help us get her back. Let's just head over to Dr. O's house," Ethan suggested. Conner nodded, as his phone rang again.

"Dr. O…" he answered.

"_Sorry Conner, I was on the other line with Hunter," _Tommy said shortly and Conner could hear the stress in his voice.

"Kira was abducted…" Conner blurted out.

"_She's not the only one. Tori's gone too…and so is Kimberly," _Tommy stated. Conner's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"_It doesn't end there though. There are other former female rangers missing now too. Get my house as soon as possible," _Tommy instructed.

"Yeah, we'll be right there," Conner said, as he hung up and headed out the door with Ethan following him closely behind.

* * *

_**Goldar's Dark Dimension**_

Goldman smirked and hit a button on the remote. The screen zoomed inside to the cell block level of the fortress, showing the seven ranger females in a dingy cell block. He laughed evilly then, as he used the remote to spy on the locations of the male rangers. Their reactions were as he expected, but no less entertaining.

"What if they don't figure out how to find this place?" Sabrina asked.

"Their resourcefulness in the past has been nothing short of amazing and I don't doubt they will soon know exactly who I am. In fact, I'm counting on it. How are our lovely guests?" he asked. Sabrina smirked.

"They're all conscious again finally and complaining about the condition of the cell they've been put in. For rangers, they certainly seem ridiculously afraid of a few rats," Sabrina said, as she glared at the captive females on the screen.

"You always were jealous of the female rangers," Victor goaded, as she glared at him.

"Shut up…I'm not jealous of any of those prissy little bitches. I may be cursed with this human form, but at least mine is attractive, unlike yours. I can have any man I want with the bat of an eyelash," Sabrina hissed.

"Yes, that's how you seduced your billionaire husband, but we both know that he wasn't a nice man. You had to put up with a lot for that money," Victor goaded.

"What's your point?" she snapped. He caressed her face.

"My point is that you had to whore yourself for that money, while those silly ranger women bat their pretty eyes and snag good men that don't just use their bodies. It makes you simmer in rage to watch what they have with their husbands and boyfriends when you know you'll never have that," he hissed, as he caressed her cheek.

"Screw you…" she hissed. He chuckled.

"Spoken like a true whore," he hissed back, as she angrily drew back her fist, but he caught it and shoved her away.

"Don't worry, I'll let you torture your pretty little nemesis' soon," he laughed, as he left to attend to other things.

* * *

_**Reefside**_

_**Home of Tommy and Kimberly Oliver**_

Cars were piled in Tommy's yard, the last to pull up being a red mustang, belonging to none other than Conner McKnight. The red Dino ranger stepped out with Ethan and Trent in tow, who was in town from New York visiting his father. They walked in and looked around, seeing some they recognized from Dr. Oliver's video diary and others they knew better, like the Ninjas of Blue Bay Harbor.

"Glad you guys are here," Tommy said, motioning to them.

"How many are missing?" Trent asked curiously. Tommy sat back down and sighed, his worry for Kim, especially in her current condition was almost stifling.

"The first five ranger women to ever serve, plus Tori and Kira now," Tommy confirmed.

"Aren't there a few teams missing in between us?" Conner asked. Jason nodded.

"Yeah, but for whatever reason, whoever we're dealing with has decided he wants to deal with the original twelve, minus Justin, first. Your teams got pulled in because of your close relationships with some of us," Jason said.

"Wes is spreading the word. The other teams are on their guard, but I think we're phase one," Tommy added.

"Which means it's safe to say that it's someone who has an axe to grind with the original Morphin teams," Billy added.

"But I thought that you told us Zordon's wave wiped out all evil in the universe when the red space ranger sacrificed your mentor at his request?" Trent asked in confusion.

"Zordon's wave wiped out most of who we had faced up to that point. Obviously, plenty of evil beings escaped the wave or none of the teams after us would have had to come into existence," Tommy reminded.

"And some of those beings were returned or given human form, including Rita and Zedd. We know they both took that as a second chance and are living peacefully, or were, in Zedd's case," Jason replied.

"Were?" Shane asked.

"Zedd was found murdered, not long before my showdown with Goldman, over a year ago," Jason added.

"He was found in an alley, stabbed to death with his wallet missing so we ruled it as a robbery gone badly. It was made to look like that anyway," Rocky chimed in.

"But you think it's connected to all this," Hunter stated, starting to piece it together.

"Zedd was human after the wave, but he knew how to take care of himself. I kind of find it hard to believe that a few punks with knives could take him out, much less kill him," Tommy mentioned.

"But we don't know who really killed him or why yet. That's the mystery and if we figure that out, I think we might figure out who has the girls," Jason added.

Ethan sighed and looked at his former teacher.

"Okay, let me see if I have this right. A possible old villain from your days as rangers has kidnapped the girls from our teams, because he wants to destroy us all? And this person is possibly human now, because of that whole fiasco in '98 when Astronema tried to take over the planet," Ethan stated.

"That fiasco caused the death of our mentor and in turn saved us all," Tommy chided at his lack of respect.

"Sorry Dr. O, but what are we going to do? How do we find out where Kira and the others are?" Ethan asked.

"We've been bated now and whoever has them knows we'll go after them," Jason stated.

"Then it's probably a trap," Cam said.

"Definitely," Tommy replied.

"Doesn't matter, I'm not leaving Tori at this bastard's mercy or whoever it is we're dealing with, powers or not," Hunter seethed, as he balled his fist. Shane and Cam exchanged a glance, but Dustin stepped in first.

"Dude, we'll get her back," he promised, clapping the crimson ranger on the shoulder. Hunter noticed the meaningful look Dustin gave him and was glad he left the words unsaid for now, simply nodding gratefully.

"Don't worry; we're going to spring the trap as soon as we get a lock on the girl's energy signatures. The computer is still scanning, but I doubt it will be long now," Billy added.

"But if this person hates rangers, then why hasn't he gone after the other teams yet? That's what I don't get," Shane asked.

"He's definitely seems focused on the Morphin teams, so it's someone we pissed off during our ranger days. That was a lot of villains, though I thought they were either turned human or to dust," Rocky explained.

"Yeah, and your team is close to the Dino team, so you got pulled in with us," Tommy guessed.

"Whoever took Kat knew exactly where the cameras were in the parking lot of the grocery store, because I can't get a look at them," Billy said, as he painfully watched the video of his wife being subdued with a taser. The babysitter had left him messages on his phone saying that Kat never showed up to pick up their daughters. He instantly knew something was wrong since that wasn't like Kat at all. He had picked them and dropped them off with his father in Angel Grove, after he and Jason used the grid to teleport.

"Yeah, and the nurses heard Trini scream from a patient room, but no one was there by the time they got there. There's no cameras in those rooms obviously," Jason added.

"It was a woman who took Kira and she had powers," Conner mentioned.

"Can you describe her?" Tommy asked.

"Petite, long black hair, and of Asian descent, and she had powers," Conner recalled.

"We need to figure out who she is. She's probably working for someone that has a grudge against us. They likely plan on taking us out first or trying to and then they'll probably go after other teams. If we knew who we were dealing with, all this would probably make a lot more sense," Jason stated.

"But…the voice on Tori's phone was a guy. It was a man that took Tori," Hunter interjected.

"Could be the mastermind or at the very least, the woman's partner," Rocky suggested, as he punched up the surveillance video from Aisha's clinic. The figure wasn't facing the camera, but he was obviously male.

"We're not sure which one of them got Kim. He or she murdered Kim's receptionist," Tommy said, as Billy sat deep in thought, so much so that Jason could almost hear the gears turning in his brain.

"Billy…what is it?" he asked, as he noticed the look on Billy's face suddenly.

"What is it?" he asked again when the genius didn't answer. He was suddenly snapped from his trance.

"Something Rocky said earlier. That the villains we faced during our ranger days were either turned human or to dust," Billy said.

"Yeah…we know that Rita and Zedd were, but there were others too like Divatox. Others like Master Vile and Rito were turned to dust," Tommy said.

"A lot was happening that day. Phantom ranger and Trey saw some of it happen, but they couldn't really keep track of who was turned human and who was space dust. I still don't know if I see where you're going with this though," he told their resident genius.

"Jase, we see the worst of human evil on daily basis with the work we do in the bureau. Rocky can relate, being a homicide detective too. Just because you're human doesn't mean you're automatically good," Billy stated, as he got up and started writing names on the dry erase board that Tommy had in the Dino lab.

"Billy…what is it?" Jason asked, as he watched the genius go into one of his frenzies that he usually did when he was onto something during a case.

"I can't believe I didn't see this before," Billy exclaimed.

"See what?" Dustin asked.

"Zedd's murder wasn't a robbery gone bad, that's just what we were meant to think," Billy stated.

"Yeah, we figured that, but the question is if the person that killed him didn't want money, then what did they want?" Tommy questioned. Billy drew a large Z on the board in response.

"His magic," the genius stated.

"Dude…I think I'm lost," Dustin lamented.

"Yeah, I thought Zedd was turned human so he wouldn't have powers anymore, would he?" Conner asked.

"He was turned human, as was Rita, but they were born Eltarian so in a sense, they were only cleansed by Zordon's wave and they chose to return to the good side. Their magic is and was a part of them. They were born with it," Tommy explained.

"Exactly. So much was happening that day that it was hard to see who was turned to dust and who was given a second chance to be good. Not everyone may have taken that second chance. Some are just bad to the core," Jason mentioned.

"Except that it finally dawned on me why this woman looks familiar," Billy said, as he pulled up an image of an Asian woman from a news website, the same one that had kidnapped Kira.

"That's her…that's the bitch that took Kira! Conner cried. Adam's eyes widened. This was the first he was seeing the woman that was responsible for part of this.

"She's been in the news recently. She's the wife of that billionaire tycoon that died a year ago," Jason mentioned.

"Sabrina…that's the form Scorpina used all those years ago on me!" Adam exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked.

"I'd never forget her. She's aged a little, but that's her," Adam spat.

"Shit…" Rocky swore, as he put it together.

"Victor Goldman…" Jason hissed.

"Is Goldar," Tommy deduced and Billy nodded.

"Goldar…that giant gold monkey thing from your video diary?" Conner asked. Tommy nodded.

"That explains the grudge and everything makes sense now," Jason stated. Billy nodded.

"Whoa…hold up, you put a bullet in him. I saw the body!" Rocky exclaimed. Jason shrugged.

"I've mulled that night over in my head for a year. Something wasn't right that night and now it makes sense. Goldman goaded me into shooting him…or whoever he had parading around as him. That whole confrontation was a set up for this!" Jason hissed angrily.

"But…how?" Hunter asked.

"With Zedd's magic, creating a clone is mere child's play. Back in the day, he cloned Billy, after all. Goldar just had to make a clay model of himself and poof, instant clone ready for sacrifice," Tommy explained. Billy nodded, connecting everything together in his mind.

"Goldar and Scorpina were given second chances, but obviously they are more than a little angry with their new forms and lack of magic. Any powers they had were given to them by Rita and Zedd, other than their skills as warriors," Billy said.

"Okay, so we know it's Goldar now, but that still doesn't tell us where our girls are," Rocky said.

"They murdered Zedd for his magic, which is contained in the Z staff. We need someone who knows and can access Zedd's dark dimensions," Tommy stated.

"You think that's where they are?" Adam asked.

"Unfortunately, I know way too much about how Goldar's sick mind works. Rita is our best shot," Tommy replied.

"Let's go. Hayley, can you teleport us to Angel Grove?" Tommy asked. The redhead nodded and soon they were gone.

* * *

_**Angel Grove**_

_**Home of Rita Xett, formerly Rita Repulsa**_

Jason and Tommy approached the ranch style house in the Angel Grove suburbs. They had told the others to hang back as to not overwhelm Rita. They were about to turn her world upside down by telling her the real reason for her husband's murder. They noticed the sold sign in the yard, as the approached the door and knocked. A small, petite Asian looking woman answered the door and her eyes widened in recognition.

"Tommy…Jason…" she said in surprise.

"Hello Rita," Jason said evenly.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"There's something we need to talk to you about and I'm afraid it might be difficult for you to hear," Tommy replied. Rita nodded in understanding, as she let the two men, whose lives she had once made a living hell, into her home.

"Please sit and be comfortable. Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.

"We're fine, thanks," Jason said, as she sat down across from them.

"You're moving?" Tommy asked, indicating the sign in the yard. Rita nodded.

"Angel Grove has a lot of painful memories, as you can imagine. I've decided to make a fresh start in a town called Briarwood," Rita explained.

"Briarwood…isn't that the town that is rumored to be surrounded by a supposed enchanted forest?" Tommy asked. Rita smiled.

"It's a magical forest and it's not just rumors. I figured I will fit right in and maybe do some good for a change," she stated.

"But that's not what you came here to talk about," she prompted.

"No…I'm afraid it's about Zedd's murder," Jason stated gently. She shrugged.

"After everything he did to you, it's probably poetic justice that he was cut down by some gang punks that wanted his wallet," she said bitterly.

"Except that he wasn't," Tommy replied.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Recognize her?" Jason asked, as he showed her a photo.

"That's Sabrina Chavik…what does she have to do with this?" Rita asked.

"Look more closely," Tommy instructed. Rita glanced at the picture again and her eyes widened, as she stared into the woman's dark eyes.

"Scorpina…" she whispered.

"She killed Zedd?" Rita questioned.

"We think she did and took the one thing that contained his powers," Tommy stated.

"His Z staff," Rita stated.

"Do you know where he hid it?" Jason asked.

"What is this all about?" Rita countered with her own questioned. The two former rangers sighed.

"Do you remember the day that Astronema invaded?" Jason asked.

"Of course, that's the day we were freed from our alien forms and made a vow to each other that we would honor the second chance that Zordon gave us. He could have turned us to dust, but he didn't," Rita confessed.

"We think that Goldar and Scorpina were given that second chance too, but decided that they'd rather have revenge," Tommy said.

"Remember Victor Goldman?" Jason asked.

"Of course, everyone knows about him. He murdered eighteen women across the state before you caught him. But he's dead," Rita stated.

"Billy thinks that whoever I shot that night might have been a clone. We figured out that Victor had an obsession with rangers and knew the identity of every single one of us. No one could crack through every team's security to get that kind of information so that naturally means that someone who already knew is responsible," Jason stated.

"And now he has Kimberly, Trini, Aisha, Katherine, Tanya, Tori, and Kira. Do you know where Zedd kept that staff?" Tommy asked. Rita nodded.

"Follow me," she said, as she led them into the basement. They followed her and she opened a locked door in the basement. Her hand glowed with magic and a swirling blue portal appeared on the wall.

"This is the only doorway to Zedd's network of dark dimension. At the time of Mondo's invasion, he had destroyed most of them and was working on one last place that he planned to send the rangers to, hoping he'd finally win. But if someone else has his staff now, they could create a portal to the dimension from anywhere," Rita stated.

"Obviously when my father arrived and then later Mondo, it was never quite finished, but it wasn't for the faint of heart. When we vowed to no longer continue our evil conquests, Zedd tossed his staff into the dark dimension and we planned on closing it off for good," Rita stated.

"Why didn't you?" Tommy asked.

"When other evils kept showing up on earth, we decided that our magic might be needed someday, not for evil, but for good, so we left his magic locked away. I made sure he had enough left though so he could access the portal if something happened to me and he needed his magic," Rita explained.

"This is where they are. They have the girls in this dimension. That's why Billy's computers can't pick up their energy signatures anywhere on Earth," Jason stated.

"I'm warning you, this dimension that Zedd created isn't for the faint of heart," Rita warned.

"It doesn't matter. Those are our wives, girlfriends, and teammates in there. We don't have a choice and we just need your help to keep the portal open long enough for us to get in. We'll get ourselves out by finding Zedd's staff," Jason stated.

"I'll get the rest of the guys here," Tommy said, as he dialed Adam's number on his cell phone. Tears welled in Rita's eyes.

"You better kill that bastard for real this time and that bitch better go with him," Rita spat. Jason smirked.

"Don't worry; he's got a lot of really angry ranger males on his hands now. We'll get our girls back and justice for Zedd," Jason promised.

"The guys will be here in five minutes. Is there anything you can tell us about this dimension?" Tommy asked, as he returned.

"Don't let looks deceive you. When you get there, it has the look and feel of a tropical island, but it's full of danger from, traps to creatures, to aliens, and he's most likely keeping them in the fortress in the center of the island. It's a death trap in itself," Rita warned.

"Sounds like the old days," Jason quipped.

"If Goldar finished the dimension, there's no telling what he added. Be careful," she warned again, as there was a knock at the door upstairs. Rita hurried up and then returned with ten more ranger males.

"Did you find them?" Hunter asked anxiously. Tommy pointed at the portal.

"And where does that thing go?" Trent asked.

"One of Zedd's old dark dimensions that we think Goldar has control of now and I'm warning you now that's it's going to be really dangerous. There's a chance that we might not make it back so if anyone wants to back out now, no one will judge you," Tommy explained. Hunter shook his head impatiently.

"If that's where Tori is, then nothing's going to stop me," he said, as he stepped through the portal.

"Aw dude…wait!" Shane cried.

"I'm with Hunter. If that's where Kira is, then that's where I'm going," Conner added, as he followed.

"Why are all reds completely irrational boneheads?" Cam asked, earning glares from several reds.

"Sorry, let's go," Cam said, as he followed Trent and Ethan through.

"Hello, is anyone going to listen to me?" Shane called.

"Dude, it's Tori, she's like our sister and you can't blame Hunter. He's totally in love," Dustin explained. Shane rolled his eyes, as they walked through. They were followed by Tommy, Jason, Rocky, Billy, and Adam and the portal closed. Rita sighed and sat down to wait for their return.

* * *

**_Goldar's Dark Dimension_**

Kira walked around the cell, pacing nervously and humming quietly, as she tried to calm herself. Tori huddled in the freezing cell with Kimberly and Katherine on either side of her, looking more distraught than Kira had ever seen her. She was usually the positive one, no matter how bad things looked. The bruise on her blonde friend's cheek reminded Kira of the situation they were in and the swirling blue portal they'd been shoved through. Upon their arrival in this hell hole, they had come face to face with a man that had haunted the Californian news for three years, detailing his spree of rapes and murders of young women all over the state. To find out that this same man was actually still alive and had an axe to grind against all living former rangers was a hard pill to swallow. Positivity wasn't something that was in their ability to muster right now.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Tori asked. Katherine hugged the young blonde close, gently stroking her hair.

"Not if our boys have anything to say about it. Do you think your friends aren't looking for?" Katherine asked. A tear slipped down Tori's cheek.

"I know they are…I just wish I hadn't taken so many things for granted, you know?" she asked. Kat nodded.

"Yeah, I know sweetie, but that's why when we get out of this that you have to make sure you never take anything for granted again," Katherine told her.

"And if you have feelings for someone, then keeping them to yourself is just a waste. So promise me that when we get out of this that you won't waste any time and tell him how you feel and you know who I'm talking about," Kat instructed. Tori nodded.

"Promise," she whispered.

"We have to have faith. Tommy and Jason will find us," Kimberly assured her.

"Knowing our boys, they're already here," Aisha added.

"How right you are, little bear," a male voice cut through their chatter. Tanya pulled herself to her feet and approached the bars where Kira stood frozen, as Goldman reached through the bars and lifted her chin. She swatted his hand away and pulled the younger yellow back.

"I wonder what Zordon would think if he knew his decision to give me a second chance would result in the slaughter of his sons and daughters?" Goldman goaded.

"Save it Goldar and get to the point. Why are we here?" Kimberly snapped.

"My dear Kimberly, haven't you guessed by now? I want you all dead…but not before you suffer like I have," Goldman spat.

"Suffer? What have you suffered, you twisted freak?" Trini hissed.

"Oh, I am so glad you asked that, darling Trini," Goldman drawled.

"I would have preferred being turned to dust over this mundane human existence, but I don't expect any of you to understand that," he spat.

"I was once a proud Chimerian warrior until he robbed me of what was my true form and turned me into this," he hissed.

"I can never return to my people, because of what your mentor did to me and for that, his children will suffer!" Goldman roared.

"You're sick…" Tori spat. His eyes darted to the blonde.

"Sick…oh you haven't seen sick yet," Victor spat, as the bars disappeared and he lunged at the girls, grabbing Tori's arm and slamming her against the wall.

"You know what I do to young women now, don't you? You've watched the news and read of my exploits haven't you?" he hissed, as his psychotic eyes glared into her frightened sapphire ones.

"No…let her go!" Kimberly cried. Victor raised the pointed end of the Z staff to Tori's throat, stopping their advance.

"Then if you don't want to see me defile her and then slit her throat, you'll stay where you are," Goldman said, as Sabrina entered and cuffed each girl, while Victor handled Tori and forced them to follow them from the cell.


	4. Part 4 of 6 Island of Terror

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban again.

**AN:** This story is for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-thon. This story will focus on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams. Part 1 takes place in fall 2004 and the rest will pick up one year later in 2005.

**AN 2 please read:** Everything up through Dino Thunder is canon, with the exception that Kimberly never sent the letter to Tommy in this universe. The fiasco on Muranthias did happen. Jason and Kim were rescued and Kim returned to Florida shortly after that to compete in the Pan Globals. After winning gold, she moved back to California and went to college with Tommy. They married while Tommy was getting his PHD in Paleontology. She was present for the events of Dino Thunder but was not a ranger.

**AN 3: **This story is the first in this series and will likely be followed by at least two sequels. However, the first story is being submitted as my entry for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-Thon.

**AN 4: **For those wondering about Crimson Rising or any of my Star Wars fics, fear not, they are only on a very temporary hold. Endangered Legacy will be finished by Tuesday, as the contest ends on that day. Then I'll be back to Crimson Rising and my Star Wars stories full time. There will likely be a sequel or two for this series, but I will not be working on it until after January or February likely.

Thanks for all the great review. Here's thanks to a few individuals:

brankel1: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Things are about to heat up in this chapter.

WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Yeah and this chapter gets even scarier. But there's some romance too, so enjoy. :)

Dracula X: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. :)

Harry2: No, it won't be easy, especially when the heat gets turned up in this chapter. Enjoy.

blueninjettiranger: Glad you're enjoying the story. :)

Griddlebone: I know, it's a bit of a twist having the rangers team up with Rita and actually wanting to avenge Zedd, but I'm glad I pulled it off believably. That's great to hear. Things heat up in this chapter. Enjoy. :)

garnetred: Yep, Goldar is sick and they decided to go after Tori, because she's developed a close friendship with not only Kira, but Kim as well after the NS/DT team up. The Ninja team has remained in close contact with Tommy, Kim, and the Dion team since then. They're included in the initial wave for this reason and because they're also among my favorites. ;)

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

**Established Pairings:** Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Rocky/Aisha, Adam/Tanya, and Billy/Kat, Dustin/Marah

**Pairings in Progress:** Conner/Kira, Hunter/Tori

Endangered Legacy

Part 4/6

"_Island of Terror"_

"Nice place," Conner mumbled sarcastically, as they arrived at the massive compound in the center of the island. They were already tired and weary from outrunning poisonous snakes, bugs, man-eating Venus flytraps and a slew of other jungle dangers. Eerily, the gates swung open invitingly and the guys all exchanged looks.

"Dude…this is totally like the Temple of Doom," Dustin quipped.

"Yeah and this whole thing screams trap," Trent added sourly.

"Doesn't matter…they're in there," Billy added.

"He's definitely expecting us, which means there's no telling what's waiting for us. Everyone stay alert," Tommy warned, as he and Jason filed in first, followed by the rest with Trent and Ethan bringing up the rear.

"_Welcome rangers,"_ a voice boomed over what sounded like an intercom.

"Cut the crap Goldar…we know it's you. Where are the girls?" Jason demanded.

"_I'm sorry Agent Scott, but you're not in charge here. Your teammates may jump when you bark orders, but I do not,"_ the voice continued. The former red ranger scoffed.

"I don't give a damn about anything you have to say, now where are my wife and the others!" Jason demanded. Tommy put a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down.

"Jase…this isn't going to help the girls," Tommy told him quietly. Jason sighed and tried to calm down.

"_Tommy…always the voice of reason,"_ Goldman's voice boomed sarcastically.

"We're here now, but you knew that we would come so what now?" Tommy demanded to know.

"_The game continues. I'll have to say, I'm quite impressed by your abilities to bypass all the dangers outside this fortress. You veteran rangers should feel proud that the younger generations have been so well trained. Wouldn't Zordon just be simply delighted to see what his children have become?"_ Goldman goaded sarcastically. Billy smirked.

"So…this is about Zordon. You're pissed that his magic cleansed your body and made you human. Chimeria would never accept you back into their society even if you could somehow prove that you're still Goldar, despite your new appearance," Billy said.

"_Still trying to profile me, Dr. Cranston?" _Goldman asked with an air of superiority.

"_What you and Agent Scott do for a living is fascinating stuff. I myself have spent years profiling all of you as well. The lovely young women you're so desperate to get back have been placed in rather precarious places throughout this compound. You should start finding them, for I'd hate to see something tragic happen to any of them,"_ Goldman said sarcastically, as he chuckled evilly, before his voice was gone.

"Come on, let's get going and find them," Tommy said, as they trekked into the tunnel ahead. Behind them, the walls crumbled and rock-like creatures emerged and followed them. Dustin heard a growling behind him and turned, only to find the rock creature's hard fist barreling toward him.

"Whoa…" Dustin cried, as he ducked and the creature's fist slammed into the wall beside him, causing their surroundings to shudder and the tunnel walls began to crumble.

"What are these things?" Shane cried, as they ran from the cave in.

"Probably wraiths of some kind. Goldar's answer to foot soldiers," Billy deduced, as the tunnel caved in and they barely made it out of the mouth of the cave. They stopped short, finding themselves clinging to the walls of the wide underground cavern, which had a huge hole in the center. There was a rumbling and they looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. The walls around them crumbled and more rock wraiths emerged. Ethan crossed his arms over his chest to block a blow, his Dino skin protecting him from the attack.

Rocky ducked a vicious blow and struggled to keep his footing on the narrow ground. A precisely aimed side kick sent the wraith to its doom in the dark hole.

"Guys…there's stable ground over there! Grab on and we'll Ninja streak!" Shane called, as he grabbed Conner by the collar and Trent by the arm and streak across the abyss, landing solidly on the platform.

"Look!" Trent called, as they saw a door at the end of the crevice where they now stood.

"There's a door over here!" Shane called, as they suddenly heard two screams coming from behind it.

"That was Aisha!" Rocky cried.

"Tanya too," Adam said anxiously, as Hunter grabbed their arms.

"Hang on," the Thunder Ninja told them, as he streaked his way there. Tommy and Jason continued to fight the wraiths, while Dustin fired his earth Ninja beams, blowing them apart into nothing more than harmless rubble.

"Guys…look up," Billy called, as he and Cam tried to fight off their own batch of wraiths. They did so, finding a network of platforms that led up further than they could see.

"How much you want to bet some of the girls are up there?" Jason asked.

"There's a good chance. Dustin, can you and Cam streak us up to one of those platforms?" Tommy asked.

"Shane is the air dude. My powers are better on solid ground," Dustin replied.

"Shane, switch places with Dustin. We'll go up there and you guys continue on," Cam said, as he held onto Billy's arm and streaked up to the first platform.

"Do you think we should really split up?" Ethan asked, as he blocked another blow with his Dino skin.

"Doesn't look like we have much choice. We'll never find them all if we don't," Jason said, as Shane arrived and streaked the rest of them up to the platform, while Dustin burrowed his way to the others.

"Let's go," Rocky called, as they reached the door. Adam happened to look up and saw a massive rock falling from above.

"LOOK OUT!" he cried, as he pushed Rocky out of the way, as the rock slammed onto the ground and rolled toward the abyss. The rest of them dodged, as the rock rolled into the dark hole in the center.

"Are you guys okay?!" Tommy called from above one of the platforms.

"Yeah, told you this was like the Temple of Doom," Dustin called back.

"Everyone's fine I think," Conner called, as they suddenly heard a supersonic scream and then a normal sounding scream, much softer, coming from the dark hole.

"Kira…" Conner said, as he rushed to the edge of the precipice, trying to see into the black abyss, but it was too dark.

"Kira's down there," Conner said, as he slid down the slippery muddy slopes toward the abyss.

"Conner…what are you doing?" Ethan cried.

"Kira's down there," Conner repeated, as he started repelling down the sides of the dark precipice.

"I think that was Kat too," Billy said, as jumped down and slid down the muddy slope with Conner.

"Dustin, you're the earth guy, go with them," Shane called. The yellow Ninja nodded.

"Got it," Dustin said, as he made hand motions and burrowed into the mud, taking Conner and Billy with him.

"Let's keep going," Adam said, as he pressed the opener on the panel next to the steel door. It buzzed, refusing to open without a password.

"Password protected? Seriously, we don't have time for this," Rocky hissed, as he slammed his fist into the stupid device.

"Destroying it won't help," Adam chided. Crimson thunder left Hunter's fingertips and fried the panel, allowing the door to slide open.

"Frying it might though," Hunter replied, with a smirk.

"Nice work," Adam grinned, as they stepped into the room.

"Careful guys…the floor is unstable…" Tanya cried. She and Aisha hung suspended by the arms, as their husbands slowly made their way toward them.

"See if you can get this other door open behind them. I think we're better off trying to get out this way then going back out there," Adam said to Hunter. Carefully, the thunder ninja made his way to the door on shaky ground, as they freed Aisha and Tanya. The two women sighed in relief, as they used their now free arms to hug their husbands.

"Rocky…it's Goldar…" Aisha started to explain.

"And Scorpina…we know, we figured it out and Rita helped us get here," Rocky replied, as Hunter fried the panel and the door slid open.

"Let me guess…you must be Hunter," Tanya guessed. He looked at her, wondering how she knew.

"Tori talked about you," Tanya told him.

"You saw Tori?" he asked anxiously. The girls nodded.

"We were all together for a while and then they separated us," she explained.

"We need to get out of here, before this floor caves in," Trent said anxiously. As he said that, the floor beneath Hunter gave out, plunging him through it.

"HUNTER!" they screamed, as they heard him land with a thud.

"Ugh…I'm okay, the drop wasn't that far," the former crimson ranger called back up, as he picked himself up and dusted off. He found himself in an underground cavern and it was very damp. There was a stale, musty smell in the air, leading him to believe there was probably water nearby.

"What do you see?" Rocky called.

"Not much, but I think there's water down here," Hunter called back, as he prepared to climb back through the hole he had made…until beastly roar accompanied by a scream stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Tori…that was Tori!" he cried, as he ran into the damp cavern, not heeding the others calls to wait.

"What now?" Ethan asked.

"We have to trust he'll be okay and that he'll find Tori. She needs him if she's really down there. We should find a way out for now," Adam decided, as they continued on. The corridor they entered had stable ground this time, but a peculiar yellow gaseous substance covered the floor up to the ankles.

"Aw…it reeks," Ethan complained.

"It's probably poisonous too if you breath in too much of it. Cover your mouths and noses with your clothing," Adam said, as they navigated the dark pathway.

"Look at this place…it's like a maze!" Rocky said in a muffled voice, as he held Aisha's hand.

"Which way? We could get lost in here forever!" Trent cried.

"Calm down…it's just time for the three of us to get in touch with our inner Ninjetti for a minute," Adam snapped, quieting them down.

"Huh?" Ethan asked.

"It's a Ninja thing…let them work," Tanya told him, as the three Ninjetti closed their eyes, calling on buried powers from long ago. They didn't have powers anymore, but like the Ninjas of Blue Bay Harbor, their Ninjetti powers were a part of them. A few minutes passed before the three opened their eyes and shared a look.

"We're taking this path to the right. It should lead us out, but be careful, because I think there is something else alive outside this place," Adam warned.

"Great," Trent grumbled.

* * *

Hunter ninja streaked along the pathway that was descending, taking him deeper into the cavern. Soon, he was up to his knees in water and he stopped, seeing that the pathway led right into the underground lake. That's when he saw the massive beast that swam in the cave and Tori, hanging suspended above the lake, her arms chained and suspended on a rafter high above them. She was out of the creature's reach, but that didn't stop it from trying to get to the prey that taunted him. She screamed and kicked her legs, as the beast craned its neck in another attempt to reach her. Quietly, Hunter streaked to the cavern wall and started climbing, until he was traipsing the network of metal support rafters in the ceiling of the cavern. Unfortunately, he failed to notice the water below bubbling with water borne wraiths and the several that were climbing after him.

Tori screamed again, as she kicked at the beast again and it roared angrily.

"Hang on Tori, I'm going to pull you up to me," Hunter called. She looked up and her eyes lit up in relief.

"Hunter!" she called, as he pulled on the chains, slowly lifting her to her him. When she was within reached, he pulled her onto the rafter and she threw her arms around his neck. He fried the lock on her chains and freed her wrists. Unfortunately, the rafters shuddered and they noticed the water wraiths lunging toward them. Thunder and water attacks obliterated several of the nasty creatures, but the rafter shuddered again. Tori was thrown from it and fell toward the water.

"TORI!" Hunter cried, as he jumped after her without hesitation. Saliva dripped from the water dwelling beast's fangs, as it dove toward its prey. Grabbing his hand, Tori used her skills as a powerful swimmer. Looking around, they noticed a network of underwater caves and dashing to the closest one, they finally breathed air, as they squeezed inside. Unfortunately, this one didn't seem to go anywhere, but they were safe from the beast's snapping jaws for the time being. It angrily swam back and forth; severally irritated that it had yet again been denied a meal.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked. She nodded.

"You came," she replied. He gave her his usual trademark lazy half smile. That very smile that she expected from him could now send tingles down her spine.

"Of course I came," he replied, as the creature outside roared and water splashed into the airtight cave. Tori jumped in surprise and into his arms, as they backed away against the wall of the peculiar underwater crevice that was somehow kept water out and oxygen in.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. He had no clue, but he gave her another smile.

"We'll think of something," he said, even though the opening to the crevice was starting to crack, thanks to the creature that kept butting his nose against it. If it kept that up, the entrance would cave in and trap them. But she could see it in his eyes. There was a very good chance that they weren't getting out of this alive.

"You shouldn't have come for me," she said suddenly. His head turned to her.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded to know.

"Hunter…I can see it on your face. There might not be a way out of this…alive anyway," she said sadly.

"Don't say that Tor…I'm going to find a way to get us out of this," he promised.

"Hunter…it's okay. If we're going to die, then I don't want to have any regrets," Tori explained.

"I'm not going to let you die," he tried to convince her. She smiled and reached up to gently brush his wet dirty blonde locks from his eyes. Her touch made his heart pound in his chest and stormy blue clashed with deep sapphire, as their eyes locked.

"I know…but I have to get this out, just in case," Tori whispered, as a tear slowly slipped down her cheek. He reached up to wipe it away with his thumb and the sensation of his hand touching her face caused her to take a sharp intake of breath.

"Why did we waste so much time?" she cried, tears glistening in her eyes. He felt his heart clench and wondered when it had become physically painful for him to see her cry.

"Because we were foolish enough to believe that we had all the time in the world," he answered, a little bitterly.

"I told myself that I couldn't fall for you, because I didn't want to come between two brothers," she said, as she bit her bottom lip.

"But I can't help it. I feel things for you that I never felt for Blake…that he never gave me the chance to feel," she cried, as tears rolled down her cheeks. Hunter could only stare at her in amazement, awestruck at how beautiful she was even when she was crying.

"I love you Hunter Bradley and if we die tonight, then at least you'll know," she squeaked, unable to meet his eyes now. He lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I've been telling myself for months that you could never see me as anything more than a friend," Hunter stated.

"Shows you what I know," he scoffed, making her smile.

"When you smile, my heart skips a beat. When you laugh, it swells inside my chest so much that I wonder if it's going burst out. When you cry, I feel like it's being ripped out. I love you Tori and if we get out of this, I promise you that we're not going to waste any more precious time," he told her, as he slowly leaned in and kissed her. Her heart thudded in her chest, as he moved his lips over hers in a passionate rhythm. The need for air forced their lips to part and they panted, as they stared into each other's eyes.

"We're not dying tonight…" he rasped, as he stood up and took her hand.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, as she let him pull her to her feet.

"That creature is immersed in water and I'm thunder. I hit him with enough and he's dead," Hunter said, determination defining his features.

"He's huge and that's going to take a lot of energy," she warned.

"That's why I'm counting on your excellent swimming abilities to get us out of here and outswim the water wraiths," Hunter told her. She smiled.

"I can do that hopefully, but how exactly do we even get out of here?" she asked.

"There are more underwater caves. There is bound to be one that goes somewhere," he replied.

"And what if they don't have air pockets like this one?" she asked. He responded by kissing her deeply.

"Then at least we'll have no regrets…other than we wish we would have had more time," Hunter replied, as their lips parted.

"Then here's to hoping that we'll have all the time in the world to lose ourselves in each other when we do get out of this," she said. He smiled and squeezed her hand, before urging her to get back. He concentrated and crimson thunder sizzled along his arms, building in his palms, as he outstretched his arms. The beast roared in agony, as violent flashes of lightning coursed throughout the beast's massive body. The water conducted Hunter's electricity and tore through its organs and brain until its heart gave out. There was a massive splash in the water, as the creature sunk to the bottom. Hunter fell to his knees and took deep breaths of air, as Tori knelt beside him in concern.

"I'm fine…let's go," he said, as they joined hands and leapt into the water. Their eyes searched the underwater caves until they found a large one that looked like it might go somewhere and they swam together. He did his best to kick the water wraiths that pursued them again and curiously, they did not follow them into the cave. He knew that probably meant there was another danger in there, but they had no other choice. He saw that she was starting to lag due to lack of air. He saw the air pocket ahead and quickly pulled her to him, breathing his own air into her mouth. Her eyes widened, but she knew he was counting on her to get them to the air pocket as quickly as possible, being the best swimmer. Not willing to let him down, she hooked her arm with his and pulled him along, kicking as fast as she could until she finally reached the air pocket. She gasped for air and he coughed, as she pulled them up into the small air space.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded.

"I'm fine," he assured her.

"We have to keep going," he urged. She nodded and kissed him. He smiled, as they took deep breaths and continued on. They saw a light at the end of the tunnel and smiled at each other underwater, as they swam as fast as they could. The current suddenly picked up and the water churned. They locked arms, as they were sucked into the whirlwind and whipped around violently, before they were thrust through the lit exit into the unknown.

* * *

Conner's face soured again, as there was another disgusting crunch beneath his sneakers.

"Ugh, bugs usually don't bother me, but this is getting gross," he complained, as the crunching became more frequent.

"Then don't look down, because these are probably the biggest roaches I've ever seen," Billy warned.

"Well, if this Goldar dude is going for the nastiest place ever, he would win," Dustin said, as there was another large crunch underneath his boot.

"Ugh…I'm throwing these boots away when we get out of this," Dustin promised himself.

"If we get out of this. He said we're free if we survive and find the girls, but you know he's lying," Conner pointed out.

"Yeah, not even I'm that trusting. What do you think, Dr. C?" Dustin asked.

"Well, Conner's right. Goldar won't just let us go. Unfortunately, Goldar has become a lot more creative since our days as rangers, not to mention completely insane. He's not opposed to ending his own life it means taking all of us with him," Billy profiled with a sigh. He loved and hated his job sometimes. He surrounded himself with this stuff on a daily basis. Sick, twisted, perverted human evil of the worst kind and he dissected it like a damn frog in a lab. His work had its rewarding days where they captured the worst scum out there and put them away. That was the only reason he did it, but no matter how many they put away, a dozen more popped up in place of the last. He knew Kat and his two little angels were what kept him grounded. And now the mother of his children was down in this hell hole. This time, the evil had gone after her and he was going to make sure Goldar paid for it.

"If that's true, then how are we going to defeat him?" Conner asked.

"We find the girls and survive this hell pit. When he realizes that none of his traps or creatures can take us down, he'll face us and try to end us himself. Then we fight him with everything we have. We defeat him or get control of the teleportation system and we get off this island," Billy told them, knowing it was easier said than done, as he saw Conner stumble suddenly.

"Whoa!" he cried, as Dustin caught him.

"There's a hole there," Conner said, as Billy knelt down.

"It looks like a well. A really dirty one, but there's a ladder," Billy replied, as Conner knelt beside him. Kira's ptera scream pierced their ears.

"Dude…that's a hell of a scream," Dustin said, his ears ringing now.

"Kira!" Conner called.

"Conner?!" she called up in surprise.

"Hang on…we're coming for you!" he called back.

"Kat?!" Billy called.

"I'm down here too Billy, please hurry, there are bloody rats the size of small dogs down here!" Kat cried.

"Great…rats, like the roaches weren't nasty and diseased enough," Conner grumbled, as he and Billy started climbing down.

"Dustin, stay up here in case we need help getting up out of this thing," Billy instructed.

As they jumped down into the well, their feet sloshed through dirty, slimy water. Conner took out his pocket knife and cut the ropes around the girls' wrists. They were huddled together and they both noticed tear tracks on their cheeks. It was a frightening place to be left tied up in, but Conner supposed that was Goldar's intent. He kicked a large rat away, while Billy battled another away from the girls. The creatures didn't seem all that deterred, but once her arms were free, Kira threw them around Conner's neck. He held her tightly and stroked her hair.

"Oh Billy…" Kat cried, as she threw her arms around her husband.

"It's okay Kat…I'm here," Billy whispered.

"Where are the girls?" she whimpered.

"I took them to my dad's," he assured her. She nodded.

"I was afraid that he was going to go after our babies," she cried.

"Shh…I'm not going to let that happen," he promised.

"Start climbing, I'll be right behind you and Dustin is waiting at the top," Conner told her, as Kira started climbing.

Once she got close, Dustin grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Conner was next and the former red Dino ranger turned to help Kat up and the finally Billy.

"Now where?" Conner asked.

"We continue on and hope we can find a way out," Billy said, as he took Kat's hand and led her, as the three younger former rangers followed suit. But without warning, the five of them were snatched up by teleportation beams.

* * *

Shane, Cam, Tommy, and Jason hopped the ascending platforms. Once they started getting higher, the suspended platforms seemed to begin to connect to each other, some consisting of concrete and others of mesh metal walkways, also suspended in the air, likely with the magic that had created the whole place. As they trekked upward, it got harder to breathe, but Cam noticed a tunnel opening in the massive rock walls that surrounded them near what could now be seen as the top. It was apparent to them now that they were in some sort of canyon in the outlying areas around the fortress where they had originally came in.

"I think we're getting close finally," Jason said.

"Close to what?" Shane asked.

"We're not sure yet," Tommy replied.

"That tunnel must go somewhere," Cam said, as they traipsed up the inclined rock platform and into the narrow tunnel. The moment they were inside the tunnel, they felt a searing heat coming from the other side.

"Whoa…" Shane said, as sweat began to bead on their skin. When they reached the mouth of the tunnel, they found a massive lava lake below them.

"TOMMY!" Kimberly cried. His head snapped up and he found her in a cage atop a very large, but sinking pillar. Parallel to Kimberly was another pillar where Trini was trapped as well.

"JASON!" Trini called.

"HANG ON, WE'RE COMING!" Jason called.

"How do we get over there? Air jumping is a little risky when there's a pool of lava below us," Shane said, referring to his abilities.

"We'll have to take the network of smaller pillars up and then climb down onto the cages to get the girls out," Tommy said, pointing to the network of rocky outcroppings above them.

"Shane, you're with Jason. Cam you're with me," Tommy said, as they ascended up and parted ways, two going one way and two the other. A fierce wind threatened to knock them over, as wispy tendrils formed into winged creatures.

"Great…wind wraiths. Like a lava lake wasn't enough," Jason growled, as he struggled to keep his footing.

"Power of Air!" Shane called, as he shot ninja beams at the wraiths, as they jumped from platform to platform. When he was close enough, Jason jumped down onto the cage holding his wife and took out his handgun.

"Stand back Tri," Jason said, as he shot the lock and opened the top hatch. She climbed out and they joined Shane.

"If we keep going up, we could scale down the outside of this canyon. We'll probably end up back in that jungle, but going down isn't going to do us any good," Shane said. Jason nodded.

"It's our best chance," Jason said, as he and Trini followed Shane, as they began climbing the canyon walls.

"Samurai beams!" Cam cried, as he shot green energy at the wind wraiths.

"Hurry and get Kim. I'll hold them off," Cam said, as Tommy leapt down onto the cage holding Kimberly.

"A lava lake…seriously? When I see Goldar or Goldman or whatever he's calling himself, I'm going to kick him in the balls," Kim ranted, making Tommy chuckle, despite their precarious situation.

"I would love to see that," he said, as he used the screwdriver attachment on his pocketknife to pick the lock.

"You know how to pick a lock?" she asked her husband.

"Not really, but it's all I've got. I don't pack around a handgun like Mr. FBI over there," Tommy said, indicating his best friend.

"Not to rush you handsome, but please hurry," Kim urged, as the pillar continued to sink. The lock clinked and Tommy threw the lock off, before opening the top hatch and pulling her out.

"You got it," she said.

"I got lucky. For a fancy dark dimension, that was a pretty cheap lock," Tommy replied, as he took her hand and led her back to where Cam waited and they began their own climb. However, without warning, the six of them were snapped up by a beam of teleportation…


	5. Part of 5 of 6 End Game

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban again.

**AN:** This story is for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-thon. This story will focus on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams. Part 1 takes place in fall 2004 and the rest will pick up one year later in 2005.

**AN 2 Please read:** Everything up through Dino Thunder is canon, with the exception that Kimberly never sent the letter to Tommy in this universe. The fiasco on Muranthias did happen. Jason and Kim were rescued and Kim returned to Florida shortly after that to compete in the Pan Globals. After winning gold, she moved back to California and went to college with Tommy. They married while Tommy was getting his PHD in Paleontology. She was present for the events of Dino Thunder but was not a ranger.

**AN 3: **This story is the first in this series and will likely be followed by at least two sequels. However, the first story is being submitted as my entry for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-Thon.

**AN 4: **For those wondering about Crimson Rising or any of my Star Wars fics, fear not, they are only on a very temporary hold. Endangered Legacy will be finished by Tuesday, as the contest ends on that day. Then I'll be back to Crimson Rising and my Star Wars stories full time. There will likely be a sequel or two for this series, but I will not be working on it until after January or February likely.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

**Established Pairings:** Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Rocky/Aisha, Adam/Tanya, and Billy/Kat, Dustin/Marah

**Pairings in Progress:** Conner/Kira, Hunter/Tori

Endangered Legacy

Part 5/6

"_End Game"_

Hunter groaned in pain, as he woke up and looked around. They were washed up on the rocks in a pond surrounding a waterfall in what looked like a cave. The opening of the cave was before him and he could see the outside from the cave. He sat up and saw Tori lying beside him. Everything that had happened came rushing back to him and he caressed her beautiful face gently. She whimpered and opened her eyes, meeting his, as he helped her sit up.

"Hunter…where are we?" Tori asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think we made it out," he replied, as he pointed to the exit of the cave. She smiled and took his hand, as they got to their feet.

"Now we can find the others and find a way home," she said. He nodded and hugged her tightly. Their eyes met again and he leaned down, kissing her passionately. Their lips finally parted, but their eyes didn't, as the feelings that had been building between them for almost a year and a half flowed freely and effortlessly now.

"Kira is never going to let this go. She was right about us along," Tori said, breaking the silence. He smirked.

"Yeah, the guys are going to give me crap too, but you're definitely worth it all," he said, causing her to blush, as he held her hands in his own.

"Aww…how sweet. I think I'm going to lose my lunch," Sabrina drawled, as she appeared. She was wearing a black and gold bodysuit, ideal for fighting and was armed with an enchanted glaive that Goldar had rewarded her with. Tori and Hunter tossed away their civilian clothes, revealing their Ninja forms and sank into fighting stance.

"You know, I'm getting tired of our conversations being interrupted by unwanted company," he mused. She smirked.

"Me too, after we get out of this, we'll have to find a place where we won't be interrupted," Tori mentioned.

"That's optimistic of you, considering that you'll never leave this place alive," Sabrina hissed, as she fired a blast of gold energy at them from her glaive. They flipped out of the energy path and Tori leapt at her with a flying kick. Sabrina blocked it and knocked her away, but the water ninja landed on her feet. Water energy swirled around her, as she fired her ninja beam. Sabrina was caught off guard when the attack slammed into her and threw her into a wall. She landed in a dripping wet heap and glared daggers at the blonde beauty.

"I'm going make you regret that, you little bitch…" Sabrina hissed.

"Bring it tramp," Tori taunted. Sabrina let out a howl of rage, as she charged at Tori and unleashed a fierce energy blast. But Hunter stepped in, his entire body alive with crimson thunder energy. The blast clashed with his energy and fought to nullify his thunder energy. But the former crimson ranger stood strong.

"Congratulations for making it this far, but then I think Goldar and I were both hoping you all would make it so we could dispose of you ourselves," Sabrina hissed.

"I don't care what you or that psychopath want. We're going to find our friends and then we're getting out of here, even if we have to go through you and the freak you're working for," Hunter spat. Sabrina cackled in amusement.

"Think again handsome," she goaded, as Goldar's teleportation beam snatched them up without warning. Sabrina smirked and followed.

* * *

Trent nearly collapsed against the wall, sweating and struggling to stay conscious.

"I can't go any further…I can't breathe!" he cried.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Ethan rasped, as he tried not to breath in the poisonous gases.

"Yeah, it's can't be much further…we have to keep going," Rocky urged, as he grabbed Trent's arm and pulled him along. Tanya started coughing and Adam rubbed her back. Her eyes watered, as she looked up at her husband.

"He's right though, I can't take much more of this," she whimpered.

"There's a door!" Rocky called, as he turned the knob, but found it locked. Using his training as a cop, he backed up and kicked it down. They poured into the next tunnel and found it clear of the poison gas. They rested for a few minutes, as they took starved breaths of clear air, before Adam led them down the clear tunnel.

"Am I going insane or can the rest of you hear water too?" Ethan asked. Rocky nodded.

"No, there's definitely water ahead. I can smell it and its nasty water too," Rocky mentioned, as a rancid smell filled their nostrils.

"This whole place is disgusting! Leave it to that gold plated monkey freak to dream up a sick place like this," Aisha snapped angrily. Rocky squeezed her hand, trying to offer her comfort. He knew that she missed Jacob and was frightened that she may never see their little boy again.

"We've kicked that freak's ass before back in the day and we'll do it again, baby. We're getting out of this," he promised his wife.

"Goldilocks is probably getting impatient anyway. He'll confront us soon enough when he figures out his temple of doom isn't going to do us in," Adam said, as they came to the mouth of the tunnel and into an open cavern. A dirty stream ran through the cavern and they covered their noses.

"Oh that's nasty," Ethan complained.

"Okay, the stream isn't very wide and we're going to have to cross it," Adam stated.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Tanya said, disgust on her face. Suddenly, the cavern rumbled and a very large snake slithered from the water.

"Oh shit…" Trent cried, as the girls screamed. Adam pulled Tanya away, as the snake struck at them. Angry that he missed, he rose up again, as Rocky pulled Aisha behind him and cocked his gun. The thing was massive so he knew he needed to hit it in the head to drop it instantly. The snake reared and prepared to strike the other couple. Tanya screamed, as she and Adam were backed against the wall. Adam held her tightly and she buried her face in his chest, as they realized there was no escape. Just as it prepared to snap them into its powerful jaws, a gunshot rang out and the creature fell dead to the ground mere inches from Adam and Tanya.

"Nice shooting…" Ethan said, impressed. Rocky smirked and holstered his gun. But before they could react further, white beams of teleportation snatched them all up.

* * *

Rita opened her front door and was not surprised to see Wesley Collins and Eric Meyers on her doorstep.

"I had a feeling you two might show up," she said.

"Then you know us?" Wes asked. She nodded.

"Wes Collins and Eric Meyers from Time Force, if I'm not mistaken," she replied. Eric nodded.

"That's us…and we brought some friends with us," Eric said. Rita noticed the ranger teams on her front lawn. The Space rangers, Galaxy rangers, the Wild Force team, Lightspeed Rescue, and a lone young man dressed in navy that Rita knew to be Blake Bradley from her knowledge of ranger history. Behind him was a man that could only be Sensei Watanabe and his two nieces. And in the back, she instantly recognized Zack Taylor and a grown up Justin Stewart.

"I see that…they're not back yet," Rita said.

"We know and that's why we're here. We want you to open the portal for us," Wes stated. Rita sighed.

"Come in please," she said, as the dozens of young people filed into her house. Once the door was closed, she faced them with a weary expression.

"They've been gone a long time and I don't want to think of what that might mean. Goldar planned and prepared for this moment for years and there is a very good chance that they didn't make it," Rita said.

"I don't think it's too late, but it might be if you don't let us go in there," Eric stated.

"Mr. Meyers is correct. I implore you to let us pass into that dimension. My son is in there and four other young people that I see as my children as well," Kanoi pleaded.

"Goldar wants to kill all living rangers, but he chose to start with the group that's in there now. We were thinking that if we go in for a surprise attack that he might not be able to handle us all at once," Carter explained.

"That's my brother in there too…you have to let me through that portal," Blake urged. Rita sighed.

"You'll need my magic to find them quickly, so I'm coming with you. I'd like to give Goldar a piece of my mind anyhow," she said, as she led them down to the basement. Once there, she opened the portal and stepped through. Two at a time, starting with Wes and Eric, the former rangers filed through.

* * *

As the last group was teleported in, they had to shield their eyes from the blaring sun.

They were in some type of outdoor arena, with massive stone pillars and what looked like crests adorning the pillars, though the language was nothing they could read or had ever seen.

"Welcome to the Hildr'jik, as we call it in my native language," a male voice boomed. They looked up, seeing Goldar above them on a balcony with Sabrina beside him.

"The large gold and black crest on the center pillar is mine and one exactly like it used to reside in the grand arena back home. The center spot is reserved for only the most powerful warrior. That's why Zedd originally selected me to lead his army," the voice said. Jason snorted.

"I should have known this was about your ego, Goldar. You've fallen so far and now you're throwing a hissy fit," Jason goaded.

"Oh no, this isn't about my ego. It's about my revenge!" Goldman roared, as he appeared before them now.

"Why don't you just use Zedd's magic to turn yourself back into your original form if that's what you want so badly?" Billy asked. Goldman's eyes darted to the genius and he smirked.

"You can't, can you? Zordon's magic can't be reversed by Zedd's. All that power and you still can't get what you want," Billy goaded. Goldman growled and white lightning from the Z staff struck the former blue ranger, throwing him back several feet.

"BILLY!" Kat screamed, as she and the others ran to him. He held his chest in pain, as Jason helped him sit up.

"I'm fine," Billy insisted.

"That's a hell of burn on your chest. Just take it easy," Jason warned, as tears fell down Kat's cheeks.

"Damn it…what do you want!" Shane screamed.

"You got us here and you tried to throw your worst at us, but we survived so now what?" the red wind ranger demanded.

"Oh I'm so glad you asked that, Mr. Clarke, because you're right, it's time for the end game," Goldman stated, as he raised Zedd's staff to the sky. It instantly went black and wind picked up. Crackling white energy built in the Z and then struck the ground. There was a violent rumbling and cracking, as the ground beneath them began to break apart.

"What's happening?" Tori cried, over the sound and the now high winds that whipped around them. The pillars cracked and collapsed in chunks around them. She screamed and held onto Hunter, as they tried to keep their footing and evade the falling debris. The others struggled too and to their horror, shadowy figures began to emerge from the fiery pit that had now been unearthed below.

"What the fuck…" Jason swore, as the shadowy figures could be seen as enemies long since defeated by various teams of rangers and he recognized most from Billy's database of ranger history. But they weren't the same as they had been in the days they had terrorized the rangers. It was worse than that. They were evil spirits now, demons, with no actual substance, but he had a gut feeling that it didn't make them any less dangerous.

"Dude…it's just like the abyss of evil all over again!" Dustin cried.

"It's worse than that!" Cam called.

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"He's talking about the ancient Ninja scrolls!" Hunter explained.

"Our Sensei's always called it the abyss of evil to kiddie up the stories for us, but the scroll's direct translation was really called gates of hell!" Hunter called.

"Hunter's right, but this is way worse than what we faced two years ago," Cam agreed.

"That's because he has used dark magic to open the gateway!" a female voice called. They looked and found Rita standing there, followed by all former rangers that weren't already present, with the exception of four from Time Force, Sensei Watanabe, Marah, and Kapri.

"Dad…what are you doing here?" Cam cried.

"It will not matter where I am if he is not defeated, son. The entire planet is in danger unless we rid ourselves of this evil," Kanoi stated gravely.

"We thought you could use a little help!" Wes called. Tommy nodded.

"Can't hurt…but you realize we're probably all screwed, right?" Tommy asked. Wes nodded like he understood.

"It doesn't matter…once a ranger, always a ranger, even if that means we go down. We just have to try and take Goldilocks with us!" Zack cried over the wind, as he joined his friends.

"You foolish children…you've walked right into your own execution! I may not be able to regain my true form, but that doesn't mean I can't create a new one!" Goldar cried maniacally, as he raised the Z staff to the sky.

"What is he doing?" Billy asked.

"He's using dark magic to absorb all the demon spirits and evil essence he can!" Rita called, as she prepared to use her own magic to counter his. An inhuman scream of pain and rage erupted from Goldar, as he began absorbing the dark spirits into his being. His body began to convulse and morph into the most hideous creature any of them had ever seen. Signs of Mesagog and Maligore could be seen in his head and body, as the body looked like hardened magma and the head clearly had a dinosaur visage. Wings adorned his back now, similar to ones that once adorned Vypra and a long powerful tail, likely also from Mesagog in his ultimate form. Green slime dripped from his limbs now, reminiscent of Trakeena's mutated form, a single horn also now extended from his head, indicating that Orgs also had influence here. A large shark fin, likely from Vexacus himself protruded now from Goldar's back and dangerous spikes covered his chest, reminding the space rangers of the treacherous Darkonda. Goldar's eyes snapped open, revealing that he had retained his naturally red eyes that now bled from his face with more evil than any of them had ever seen. Goldar let loose with a gravely, deep cackle that chilled them to the bone.

Rocky, Billy, and Jason drew their guns and began pumping bullets into the creature before them. But they weren't surprised to see that it had no effect. Goldar laughed evilly and whipped his new tail at the three former rangers, sending them flying back.

"This is it…we're cooked," Ethan realized.

"No…we're not giving up…not yet!" Andros called, as he and his team initiated their morphing sequence and charged at the monster. With one single blow to each of them, their ranger suits disappeared and the five of them painfully hit the ground. The Galaxy rangers and Lightspeed rangers soon found themselves in the same predicament, as their ranger powers seemed useless against him and were easily cancelled.

"Ninja beams guys…" Shane said, as he stood with his team.

"What's the point dude? It's over," Dustin said bitterly, as he held Marah close.

"We have to try," Hunter added.

"Hunter's right…we'll at least know we gave it everything we had then," Blake agreed, as they stood together.

"Power of Air!" Shane screamed.

"Power of Earth!" Dustin called.

"Power of Water!" Tori cried, as red, yellow, and blue beams slammed into Goldar's new demonic form.

"Power of Thunder!" Hunter and Blake joined in, as crimson and navy beams of crackling energy barreled toward their enemy, hitting him head on.

"Power of the Samurai!" Cam called, as his green energy was added to the attack. But Goldar stood strong and only laughed at them. With a powerful shove, he forced their attacks back and a huge explosion threw the six ninjas to the ground, each landing painfully and hope dwindling in each of them.

Cole charged next, morphed as the red Wild Force ranger, and attempted to land a punch, but Goldar swatted him away like he was a mere fly. His team joined him, but it didn't make a difference. Their morphing sequence was cancelled by a single blast of Goldar's energy that threw them back.

Eric and Wes launched themselves at Goldar next, firing their weapons, while Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Trent charged behind them. Goldar absorbed the blasts from the Quantum defender and cancelled Wes' time strike attack with ease, batting the two rangers away like nothing. Using his super speed, Conner darted around, attempting to land what kicks and punches he could. But his gift left over from his Dino gem wasn't enough and the demon possessed warrior matched the former red Dino ranger's speed. He caught him and wrapped his large, clawed hand around Conner's neck, lifted him off the ground and tossed him away like a rag doll. Ethan blocked a blow aimed for him next with his Dino skin, but Goldar broke right through like it was nothing and kicked the former blue away. Kira tried to knock him back with a Ptera scream, while Trent attempted his own attack, but both were knocked away like minor annoyances.

"Don't you get it?" Goldar roared.

"You can't defeat me now…I am all powerful!" he screamed, as Rocky and Adam were knocked away and Kat and Tanya were blown back.

"No one's all powerful, least of all you!" Tommy called, as he and Jason keyed off, before charging. As they ran at the enemy, they morphed into the red Morphin ranger and red Zeo ranger, despite the risks. Bringing their swords down on the monster, they attempted to fight him, but were severally outmatched. Tommy hit the ground on his back, his morph exploding into nothing. Jason was thrown hard to the ground, landing on his side and rolled several times, his morph disappearing as well. Tommy spit blood from his mouth and knew he was probably bleeding internally now. Jason struggled to his feet, hissing in pain from his broken ribs.

"Tommy…no!" Kim pleaded, trying to hold him back.

"I'm sorry beautiful…I'm so sorry," Tommy cried, as he put his hand on her stomach. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"We almost had it all, but if this is how it ends, then I can be okay dying in the arms of the only man I've ever loved…even if that means our baby dies with us," she said, sobbing for their unborn child that would never get the chance to live. Goldar would have made some snide remark to the couple, if he had not been momentarily distracted by Sabrina, who was attempting to sneak away. He smirked devilishly and strode toward her retreating form, while his sniveling enemies said their pitiful goodbyes.

* * *

"Stop…your ribs are broken," Trini pleaded with her husband.

"It doesn't matter Tri…it's over…" Jason said. Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I never thought it would end like this," she said miserably.

"At least we're together…at least we go with love in our hearts. No regrets," he whispered, as he cupped her face and kissed her tenderly.

* * *

Shane struggled to get up, but his body wasn't obeying and he fell on his back again. He suddenly felt a glow on him, as the angelic form of Skyla was above him.

"Skyla…" he croaked in amazement.

"_Hello my love…" she whispered. _

"How?" he asked.

"_I told you that I would always be with you, especially when you needed me most,"_ she whispered, as she brushed her ghostly lips against his.

"I'll be with you soon," Shane whispered. Skyla only smiled, like she knew something he didn't.

* * *

Billy and Kat lay next to each other, battered and beaten, but held each other close.

"I love you Kat…" he whispered.

"I love you too Billy…every day since you came back into my life has been like a dream. I guess I just wish it wasn't ending this way," she said, as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Me either," he admitted, as he kissed her for what he was sure would be the final time.

* * *

"Tori…" Hunter called, as he dragged himself along the ground, broken leg and all, and collapsed beside her. She looked at him with watery eyes and reached up to caress his face. He gazed down at her, marveling at how even with tear tracks staining her cheeks, blood caked in her hair, and dirt smudges on her face, she was still breathtaking.

"I'm sorry we didn't have more time…" he whispered. She nodded and sniffed, as tears poured from her eyes blue eyes.

"Me too," she sobbed. He curled up next to her, pulling her into his arms, as she sobbed against his chest.

"I love you…" he whispered.

"I love you too…just hold me until the end…" she requested. He leaned down and captured her lips with his and held her tightly.

"Forever…even if forever ends now," he promised.

* * *

Rocky and Aisha held each other nearby, as did Adam and Tanya, each saying their goodbyes, holding each other tight, and sharing what they thought would be final kisses. Similar scenes took place throughout the scattered battlefield with Conner and Kira, Carter and Dana, Cole and Alyssa, Eric and Taylor, Andros and Ashley, Leo and Kendrix, Dustin and Marah, T.J. and Cassie, and Ryan and Kelsey.

* * *

"Going somewhere?" Goldar asked, as his new, frightening form appeared in front of the fleeing Sabrina. She gasped and started backing away, arming herself with her glaive.

"I didn't help you just so you could take me down with you," she hissed. He chuckled evilly.

"Then by all means, try to take me down," Goldar taunted. She fired an energy blast at her glaive, but he batted the attack away like nothing.

"You think you can kill me with the puny powers I gave you?!" he roared, as he stalked toward her. She backed away, her eyes wide with fear.

"Don't be afraid, my dear. You're about to become a part of true greatness…" he hissed, as he wrapped his hand around her neck. She let out a blood curdling scream and everyone around couldn't help but watch in horror, as she shriveled to nothing and became absorbed into Goldar's dark form. The evil being cackled, as he turned his attention back to his enemies.

"You have seen your fate now, rangers! You will become a part of that which you have fought so tirelessly against and you will help destroy all that is good in the universe! Zordon's legacy will be forever stained in the blood of innocents!" Goldar raged psychotically.

"_You are sadly mistaken, dark one, if you think it is going to end like this,"_ Skyla's spirit told him.

"Oh really…and I suppose you and this lot of broken children is going to stop me?" Goldar taunted.

"_They are actually…with a little help, perhaps…" _a male voice boomed. Recognition could be seen on the faces of the original twelve, as a bright light flashed and the ghostly form of Zordon, free of his time warp, appeared before them.

"Zordon!" Kimberly cried in hopeful amazement. He chuckled.

"_It's good to see you too, my little crane,"_ he replied.

"But…you're…" Adam stuttered, trying to find words.

"_Dead? Yes, I'm indeed dead, but that doesn't keep me from watching over my charges and the powers that be have decided that I must intervene in these most dire of circumstances," _Zordon explained.

"Nothing you can do can stop me, old man," Goldar hissed.

"_You're right, nothing I can do will stop you and I should have turned you to dust. That is a mistake that my rangers will unfortunately have to fix for me," _Zordon replied. Goldar snorted.

"Look around, you old windbag! Your rangers are all half dead!" Goldar pointed out.

"_Not for long…" _Zordon taunted, as magical tendrils erupted from Rita's wand and using most of her energy, their wounds were amazingly and miraculously healed. Tommy felt the searing pain inside him fade, as did Jason, his ribs now mended. Billy's third degree burn on his chest was gone and Kat's dislocated shoulder was set right as if nothing had happened. Hunter's leg mended and Shane's head wound healed also. All wounds inflicted by Goldar were gone and now the rangers stood strong before him again.

"You think that will matter? I beat them once and the second time won't be any different!" Goldar roared.

"That's where you're wrong," Tommy stated, as he stood strong, the other six Ninjetti gathering with him.

"Yeah, we learned a long time ago that with the power, anything is possible," Adam stated.

"That includes kicking your ass and all the other asses you just absorbed," Rocky added.

"Some of us don't have our powers anymore, but it's still inside us," Aisha stated.

"It will be more than enough to end you," Billy chimed in.

"Time to go to hell where you belong, bastard," Kimberly spat, as the six of them glowed with their ranger colors, their animal spirits springing forth and slamming into their nemesis. Katherine, Tanya and Justin joined Jason, Zack, and Trini, as their colors burst forth, striking Goldar's demonic form. The youngest teams joined their predecessors and mentors, their residual Dino energy and Ninja powers slamming into him too. The circle around Goldar was completed by the Space rangers, the Galaxy team, Lightspeed Rescue, the two present members of Time Force, and finally Wild Force, as ten generations of power rangers assaulted him with their power.

"No…NO THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Goldar roared, as he felt the spirits he had absorbed leaving him and being plunged back into the hellish depths below. As he weakened, Jason and Tommy signaled their fellow red rangers, as all thirteen reds stepped forward, glowing with their red power.

"NO…NO!" Goldar kept screaming. Tommy chuckled.

"What's the matter Goldar? Seeing red?" Tommy joked.

"You always did hate red, though shouldn't you be glowing like rainbow or something, bro?" Jason joked. Tommy shook his head.

"Funny," he replied sarcastically.

"Time to finish this," Andros called, as red energy slammed into Goldar, as Conner, Hunter, Shane, Cole, Wes, Eric, Carter, Leo, Andros, T.J., Rocky, Tommy, and Jason's energy engulfed the evil being and thrust him into the churning lava depths below. They watched the gruesome scene, as the body lit on fire half way down, before the ashes were consumed into the hot flowing magma. The light faded and all the rangers fell to their knees in exhaustion.

"We did it…" Dustin said, as a huge grin lit up his face.

"I can't believe that just happened," Ethan said in disbelief.

"We won…" Conner grinned, as he ran and scooped Kira into his arms, spinning her around. Similar scenes occurred between other ranger couples, while Zordon looked on, elated to see those he considered his children, safe and happy once again.

However, Shane didn't look as happy as he should, as Skyla prepared to leave him once again.

"I can't lose you again…my heart can't take that a second time," Shane cried.

"_I know it's hard, but I'll always be with you…"_ she promised. Tears slipped down Shane's cheeks.

"It's not enough…it's not fair! I love you and I've thought about you every minute of every day since we met," Shane cried. Skyla's ghostly hand caressed his cheek.

"_I know…I wish things were different,"_ Skyla said sadly.

"Maybe they can be," Rita said, as she came beside them. They were both astonished, as she glowed with a bright light. Her magic struck Skyla and gave her sold form, while Rita took on her ghostly one. Shane and the others could only look on in amazement.

"What…I don't understand?" Skyla stuttered, as she looked at her human hands in awe.

"_For years, I used my magic for evil and destruction. When Zordon gave me a second chance, I vowed to use it for good and now it is time to make good on that vow. In this form, my magic will be far more powerful and of great use to future ranger teams. In turn, you can now have your greatest desire and be with the one you love," _Rita said, as she smiled at the young couple.

"Is…is this real?" Shane asked, as he delicately cupped Skyla's face in his hands. She smiled and could only nod, as tears welled in her eyes. Shane smiled and did what he had done so many times in his dreams. He kissed her passionately and held her tightly in his arms, unaware of the applause from his fellow rangers around him.

"_Don't delay and return to Earth through the portal, rangers. It won't remain open very long," _Zordon instructed.

"Zordon…" Kimberly cried tearfully.

"_I'll always be watching over you…all of you, my charges. May the power protect you…always," _Zordon said simply, as he and Rita disappeared.

"Come on guys…let's go home," Tommy called, as the dozens of former rangers hurried through the portal, before it finally closed behind the final person to step through.


	6. Part 6 of 6 Aftermath

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban again.

**AN:** This story is for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-thon. This story will focus on the MMPR/ZEO, NS, and DT teams. Part 1 takes place in fall 2004 and the rest will pick up one year later in 2005.

**AN 2 Please read:** Everything up through Dino Thunder is canon, with the exception that Kimberly never sent the letter to Tommy in this universe. The fiasco on Muranthias did happen. Jason and Kim were rescued and Kim returned to Florida shortly after that to compete in the Pan Globals. After winning gold, she moved back to California and went to college with Tommy. They married while Tommy was getting his PHD in Paleontology. She was present for the events of Dino Thunder but was not a ranger.

**AN 3: **This story is the first in this series and will likely be followed by at least two sequels. However, the first story is being submitted as my entry for the To Protect and Serve Fic-a-Thon.

**AN 4: **For those wondering about Crimson Rising or any of my Star Wars fics, fear not, they are only on a very temporary hold. Endangered Legacy will be finished by Tuesday, as the contest ends on that day. Then I'll be back to Crimson Rising and my Star Wars stories full time. There will likely be a sequel or two for this series, but I will not be working on it until after January or February likely.

This is the final part of this story, but rest assured, sequels will come in 2013. Many thanks to all that have reviewed

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

**Established Pairings:** Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Rocky/Aisha, Adam/Tanya, and Billy/Kat, Dustin/Marah, T.J./Cassie, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Leo/Kendrix, Mike/Maya, Carter/Dana, Ryan/Kelsey, Taylor/Eric, Cole/Alyssa, Conner/Kira, Hunter/Tori

Endangered Legacy

Part 6/6

"_Aftermath"_

The portal closed behind the last person to step through and they all let out breaths of relief, as they stood huddled together in Rita's basement. Hugs were exchanged all around and kisses between couples. It was the first time Blake was seeing his brother and Tori together. He couldn't be angry…okay, he probably could have been. But he had moved on with someone else, though it wasn't really serious yet, but he had moved on. Both he and Tori decided it was best long before either of them started dating anyone, as neither of them believed a long distance relationship was fair to either. And, he had to admit it made him happy to see both his brother and one time crush happy together, if she had to be with anyone other than him.

Hunter and Tori's lips parted and they blushed, as their friends gawked at them in surprise.

"Blake…" Hunter started. But the younger Bradley held up his hand.

"It's okay Hunter, you don't have to explain. I've moved on with someone else, so I knew eventually Tori would too," Blake stated.

"I'll admit, I'm a little surprised it's with you, bro, but at least I know she's with someone who's going to treat her right…someone I trust with my own life. You guys look good together," Blake said. Hunter and Tori hugged him from either side, while Dustin and Marah looked on. Shane and Skyla were absorbed by each other, still letting it sink in that they were actually together, while Cam's heart yearned for LeeAnn, his girlfriend and daughter of Sensei Omino. But he knew he would see her very soon.

Goodbyes were quick for now at this point, as the rangers were all eager to return home. But after what they had been through together, it was clear that a celebration and ranger reunion, the first ever, was in order. For now though, they returned to pick up their daily lives with a renewed love for life and a promise to never take anything, including each other, for granted again.

* * *

"Mommy! Daddy!" two sweet little voices called, as the blonde haired little girls squirmed away from their grandfather and toddled to their approaching parents. Billy and Kat scooped them up and held them tightly, kissing their flaxen hair.

"My baby girls," Kat said, as she soaked up everything about them. Billy kissed her hair and then hugged his father.

"Is everything all right?" Alan Cranston asked, well aware of Billy's and the others pasts as rangers.

"It is now, Dad, I'll tell you about it later," Billy promised. Alan looked pleased.

"So you'll be staying the night at least?" he asked. His son nodded.

"We'll take the "ranger express" back to Virginia in the morning," he said, as Katherine hugged her father-in-law.

"Well then, is anyone hungry?" Alan asked. Kat and Billy glanced at each other, suddenly realizing it had been a very long time since they last ate.

"Starving," they answered simultaneously. Alan chuckled.

"Well, we can't have that. I'll go fire up the grill," Alan said, as he went back inside the house that Billy had grown up in. Kat smiled at him, as Carly and Michaela clung to their parents and kissed him tenderly.

"Come on girls, let's go help grandpa in the kitchen," Kat called, as the little family went inside as well.

* * *

"Well, this is it, the Wind Ninja Academy. Dustin and Tori teach too, but choose to live off campus. I live in the staff dorms and Sensei's already given you a room too," Shane told Skyla. She nodded and kissed his cheek.

"I know all this is really new, but I'll be there every step of the way and so will my friends," Shane said, as he held her hands in his own. Skyla smiled.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, as long as I have you. I have a lot to learn about being human, I'm sure, but I think I'll manage," she mused. He smiled and kissed her gently.

"I…I still can't believe this is real," he said, choking back tears. She held his face in her hands.

"I know…I can't either. It's a new beginning for both of us," she whispered. He smiled and their lips met again.

"Hey dudes…we're grubbing. You coming?" Dustin called.

"Grubbing?" Skyla asked in confusion. Shane chuckled.

"It's slang for eating," Shane told her.

"Yeah, we're coming!" he called, as he spotted his friends. Dustin and Marah held hands, as did LeeAnn and Cam. Hunter had his arm around Tori's waist, while Kapri and Blake remained the single ones of the group, though Blake was dating a girl outside their ranger circle.

"So pizza?" Hunter asked. Shane nodded.

"Sounds good, but none of that ham and pineapple crap you eat," Shane replied.

"Yeah, it's nasty," Blake chimed in. Hunter looked offended at his friend's comments.

"Fine," he huffed. Tori smirked.

"I'll share one with you," she promised and he smiled.

"You're awesome. The rest of you suck," Hunter joked, as they laughed. Things would return to normal, well as normal as they could get in Blue Bay Harbor. For Shane, he felt complete now with Skyla by his side. For Hunter, he felt much the same, as the void inside him that he was sure would never be filled was now so with Tori in his arms and his brother's blessing. For them, their story wasn't over. It was simply a new beginning to their lives and a new story that only time would tell.

* * *

Conner McKnight sighed, as his twin brother babbled on the other end of the phone. Being a student at the Academy, he had naturally heard the whispers of their sensei's and former rangers little adventure. He was kind of surprised that such information wasn't kept from the students, but he figured with Marah and Kapri knowing about it, then keeping it a secret was moot.

"Eric…we're fine, seriously," Conner assured his twin.

"_Bro, we heard the stories from Kapri. You guys, like almost died and stuff," _Eric went on. Conner rolled his eyes and pulled the phone away from his ear for a second.

"Was I really that big of an airhead before our ranger days?" he asked his girlfriend. Kira smirked, as she sat on his couch in his apartment, strumming her guitar idly.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked sarcastically. He smirked.

"Probably not," he replied, as he brought the phone back to his ear.

"_Are you listening to me?" _Eric asked.

"Not really dude, I don't need to hear all the gossip going on at the Academy. Tori and Hunter will tell me all the important stuff anyway," Conner replied, referring to their friends.

"_That's just it bro, you gotta give me the goods! I mean my Sensei is back with this girl that no one's ever seen and they're like totally into each other. And if that wasn't weird enough, Tally's sensei is like all over the head sensei of the Thunder Academy," _Eric pressed on.

"I'm not gossiping with you about my friends' love lives. Besides, ranger stuff isn't something that should be discussed over the phone. You know too much already," Conner replied.

"_Fine, but next time I see you, we're going to talk," _Eric replied. Conner groaned.

"Whatever dude…listen, I've got to go," Conner said.

"_Kira must be there…am I right? Man, she is so hot…" _Eric continued to ramble.

"Goodbye Eric," Conner said, as he hung up the phone and sat down beside his girlfriend, listening to the tune she was strumming.

"That's something new," he mentioned. She smiled. That was always one thing that surprised her about him. He always noticed and took interest in her music, something that a lot of guys would never do.

"It's amazing what kind of inspiration near death experiences can give you," she replied. He nodded.

"I know exactly what you mean," he stated, as he took her hand and looked her in the eyes.

"I know we haven't said it and I don't expect anything in return. I know we haven't been dating long and I'm probably risking screwing up what we have, but I can't help how I feel about you," Conner said. Kira squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.

"I love you Kira…I have for a while, but this whole mess made me realize just how much. You're the one…I know that in my heart," he confessed, bringing tears to her eyes. She set her guitar aside and turned to him.

"I love you too, Conner," she confessed in return. He gave her one of those smiles, the Conner grin, as she called them, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"So…the Jock and the Rockstar, huh? Not your normal couple, I guess," he mused. She smirked and kissed him passionately, their feelings overflowing from their hearts and he pulled her into his lap. She straddled him and kissed him as deeply as ever.

"Normal is way overrated anyway," she mentioned, as she broke their kiss momentarily. He gazed at her, desire and love filling his chestnut orbs. Their lips met again and she combed her fingers through his chocolate hair, as his lips left hers and tackled her neck. The haze of pleasure consumed them, as they became lost in each other.

* * *

"Thanks for watching him on such short notice," Aisha said gratefully, as they stood on the porch belonging to the Skullovich's. If you had told Rocky back in High School that he would be a detective with Skull as his partner one day and that he would know about their pasts as rangers, he would have laughed.

"What are partner's for? I'm just glad you handled everything, if you know what I mean. Besides, Jacob and Spike love playing together," Skull replied. Rocky nodded.

"So…what exactly happened?" Skull asked.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you tomorrow. We'll need something to talk about since we have to sit on stakeout for who knows how long," Rocky replied, referring to the case Skull had informed him had dropped on them while he was gone. The former bully nodded in understanding He loved his wife, a beautiful, sweet girl he had met while in the Academy, named Nina. But they had decided that it was better she didn't know about her friends' ranger pasts.

"Here he is," a brown haired, petite woman said, as she brought their son out. Jacob ran to his parents and Rocky scooped him up.

"There's my little man," he said, as he ruffled his son's hair and Aisha kissed his cheek. Jacob saw his Uncle Adam and Aunt Tanya approaching as well and Rocky let him down. The little boy ran to them and Adam scooped his nephew up, as the other couple waved to the Skullovich's.

"We should be going, I'll see you tomorrow Eugene," Rocky said, teasing his partner about his first name.

"Don't call me that Rocko," Skull teased back. He, Nina, and Spike watched the two couples and the little boy leave in a car.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Rocky said, as he drove.

"That's nothing new, but I think we're all hungry," Adam replied.

"Well, before we were so rudely interrupted, we planned on grilling so we can head to our house for dinner," Tanya mentioned.

"Sounds good to me," Aisha agreed.

* * *

_The next day…_

Tommy was as nervous as he had ever been, as they waited for the doctor to come in. They had gone home the night before and had a good night's sleep, but now they wanted reassurance that the baby was okay after the fiasco they had been through. Even though Rita had healed all their wounds, he was still eager for the Doctor to examine Kim.

"Hello Kimberly, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked, as she entered with Kimberly chart.

"I'm fine, the car accident wasn't bad and as far as I know, I just have a few bruises," Kim replied. They had decided that fibbing about a car accident as a reason for an impromptu checkup would keep the doctor's suspicion down.

"Well, you're very lucky, because your tests show that you and the baby are absolutely fine," the doctor assured. Tommy and Kim let out a sigh of relief.

"However, I believe that we could do an ultrasound while you're here. It's still a little early, but we might get a decent look at the baby, if you're interested," the doctor stated. The couple nodded eagerly.

"We'd really like that," Tommy replied, as the doctor proceeded to spread a clear gel on Kimberly's slightly distended belly. The machine hummed to life and Tommy squinted trying to make sense of the blurry image on the screen. Once his eyes made out the head, he instantly saw everything. Very tiny features, tiny little fingers and toes, curled up in her womb.

"Kim…" he said in awe, nearly speechless.

"Our baby…" she replied, as tears came to her eyes.

"It's a little early to tell what the sex is yet, but that should change on your next ultrasound in three months," the doctor promised.

"I don't care if it's a boy or girl, because he or she is ours," Tommy whispered to her, as the doctor handed them pictures of the ultrasound and then left them alone to gaze at their tiny creation.

"I love you…" Kimberly whispered tearfully. He smiled down at her and stroked her hair.

"I love you too beautiful," he replied, as he kissed her lips tenderly.

* * *

_Two days later…_

Jason kissed her wife tenderly, as they prepared to part once again. It had only been two days since they had gotten back and already his team was being called in with a new case.

"Sorry our time off was cut short…again," he apologized. She smiled and kissed him again.

"We made good use of our time the last couple days, I think," she said playfully. He grinned wolfishly.

"Yes we did," he replied, as he kissed her again and they gazed at each other for a few tender moments.

"I know that I shouldn't need to tell you to be careful after what we went through a few days ago…but I will anyway. I can't lose you," she said. He smirked.

"You won't, I'll be fine and I'll call you when I can. Hopefully we can crack this one quickly," Jason replied.

"With you and Billy on it, I'm sure you will. I love you and I'll see you soon," she said. He kissed her quickly again, before getting out.

"Love you too," he replied, as she drove off. Jason started in the building and saw Billy jogging to catch up to him. He held the elevator and the genius slipped in with him.

"Running late?" Jason mused playfully.

"Yeah, you could say that," Billy replied, as he straightened his tie.

"You have lipstick on your lips," Jason mentioned. Billy smirked.

"So do you," he replied. They looked at each other and shared a stupid grin, as they went about wiping it off, before the elevator dinged and they walked off onto the floor where they would rejoin their other team and work to eliminate the prevalent human evil in their world.

* * *

_**Three months later…**_

_**Reefside**_

_**Hayley's Cyberspace**_

A couple people walked up to the coffee shop and were about to go in, but noticed the sign on the door that indicated that it was closed for a private event.

Inside, Kimberly, her belly now quite distended, set out another plate of cookies. It was Christmas Eve and through e-mail and phone calls the last few months, all former rangers agreed that it was the perfect time for the first ever ranger reunion slash holiday celebration. Kira and Conner were trimming the tree, while Ethan and Tommy made sure there was enough seating for all their guests that would soon be arriving.

"Brrr…it's so cold…" Tori shivered, as she hurried into the building with Hunter and the others right behind her.

"Yeah, I thought we lived in California," Dustin complained.

"Oh come on, at least it actually feels like Christmas for once," Shane said, as Skyla shivered against him.

"I think it just feels cold," she said. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"Fear not, I have hot coffee and cocoa ready for everyone!" Hayley called from behind the bar.

"You're a lifesaver Hayley," Tori said, as she exchanged hugs with the redhead and Kimberly.

"So…do you have them?" Tori asked anxiously. Kimberly nodded in excitement and took out her new ultrasound pictures. Tori gasped and studied the picture.

"It's a girl," Kimberly added in excitement.

"Congratulations," Tori said.

"This is awesome Hayley, why haven't we had a ranger reunion before now?" Dustin asked in excitement. The Cyberspace owner shrugged.

"It's hard to get everyone together I guess, but I'm glad we pulled it off," Hayley mentioned.

"Whoa…I left New York to get away from the cold weather. Since when is it thirty degrees in California?" Trent complained, as he arrived with Anton and Elsa.

"I don't know, but they said on the radio that it hasn't been this cold on Christmas in California in like thirty years," Conner called, as he and Kira hung ornaments on the tree. The rangers from Blue Bay Harbor shed their coats and joined those that lived in Reefside on the couches near the tree.

"I think we'll manage to keep warm though," Hunter mentioned, as he and Tori cuddled together on the sofa and shared a soft kiss.

"Merry Christmas!" Rocky called, as the door to the coffee house opened again and more former rangers and family members arrived. The door was busy for the next ten minutes, as all ranger teams arrived, even the Galaxy rangers, and they were soon all gathered together, exchanging stories of their times as rangers and experiences. Jacob, Carly, and Michaela opened presents and played with their new toys, as their parents watched on. And couples cuddled together, grateful that they could be together after what they had gone through just three short months ago.

"They're beautiful Kat…" Kim mentioned, as she watched the twin girls' eyes light up as they opened their presents and sat in their father's lap.

"Thanks…but I hear you'll be having your own little girl soon," Kat replied. Kim lit up with a smile.

"Yeah, Tommy and I tried for so long. I was worried that it was never going to happen. It almost didn't," Kim mentioned, referring to their little adventure three months earlier.

"But all that's over now. We made it, just like we always do," Trini said, as she put her arm around her best friend.

"Trini's right girl, I mean look around. Would you have imagined back in our ranger days that we would someday be sitting here together, with families of our own, most of us married to other rangers, with ten generations of rangers all in one place?" Aisha asked. Kim smiled.

"Definitely not, but I'm glad we're here, but I want us to make a pact that we won't let so much time pass again before we all get together again," Kim stated. The other girls nodded, as Tanya sat down beside them, and they watched Rocky and Adam goof around with the kids.

"It's a pact then, especially since this ranger family is going to grow even more soon," Tanya mentioned. The other women got her meaning and gathered around her.

"When did you find out?" Aisha asked.

"A few days ago. Adam is over the moon. He can't wait to be a dad," Tanya announced with excitement.

"Congratulations!" Kim cried, as she hugged her. As she said that, they saw the guys all gathered around Adam, congratulating him as well.

"Hey…look who is finally joining us!" Ethan called, as Blake arrived.

"About time you showed up, bro," Hunter called, as he greeted his little brother with a hug.

"Yeah, bag on me later," Blake responded, as he and his brother shared a hug.

"I thought you were bringing your girlfriend?" Dustin asked.

"Not this time. We're not that serious yet and she wanted to go home to her family…and I wanted to be with mine. We're thinking next year we'll be ready for the whole meeting each other's family's thing," Blake explained, as Tori's cell phone rang. She took it out and answered it, before walking to the counter.

"Hey mom, have you and dad landed yet?" Tori asked anxiously. Hunter watched her carefully and felt sad for her when he saw her face fall in disappointment.

"Your flight is delayed?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well…when do you think you'll get home?" she questioned and the frown on her face slowly deepened.

"Three days…" Tori said, trying to keep the quivering out of her voice.

"No mom…I know you and daddy can't help that there's a snow storm in Chicago. I guess I'll see you in a few days," Tori said, as she hung up her phone, before putting on her coat and going outside. Hunter followed her out into the cold and saw her sitting on a bench, shivering and trying not to cry. Hunter sat down beside her and put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he dropped a kiss on her head.

"I'm sorry they're not going to make it home for Christmas," he told her.

"Are you surprised?" she asked. He winced.

"Maybe not…but you still have family all around you," he reminded. She smiled and nodded.

"I know…you guys have been more of a family to me than my own parents. It's been like three years since we spent Christmas together, so I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up anymore," Tori said, as she took his hands in her own.

"It still hurts sometimes, but this year will be special, because I have you. You're my family now," she told him, as he leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

"Wow…I think it's warming up out here," she joked and he laughed.

"Yeah, but we should probably go back inside," he mentioned.

"What's inside that's not out here?" she asked coyly.

"Mistletoe," he replied coyly, wriggling his eyebrows at her. She grinned.

"Well, when you put it that way, what are we waiting for?" she asked, as they joined hands and went back inside with their ranger family.

* * *

_**A private airstrip in Washington D.C.**_

Alana Hanson snapped her cell phone shut and shoved in her pocket with a huff, as her husband drove them and parked their car. Jack Hanson glanced over at her and recognized her sour mood.

"Tori is fine," he assured her.

"Physically, but how much longer are we going to lie to our daughter? We've been so absent from her life that we don't even know her anymore. She doesn't even know us…she never has!" Alana exclaimed.

"You know that we would walk away if it was that easy…but we can't. We're in this too deep and if we back out now, they'll come after us and Tori," Jack argued heatedly.

"I know…I know…" Alana snapped and then sighed.

"It's just that…we've missed the last three years of our little girl's life. God Jack, three Christmas', three birthdays, we even missed her high school graduation last year," Alana complained.

"We have to hope that one day she'll understand and forgive us," he replied. Alana rolled her eyes, knowing that it would never be that simple. There was a chance they could never give their daughter a true explanation of why they were gone all the time.

"Whatever…let's just get this over with," she huffed, as they grabbed their luggage and boarded the private jet…

* * *

_**Reefside**_

_**Hayley's Cyberspace**_

"Come on Dr. O…it's Christmas!" Conner pleaded.

"No," Tommy refuted.

"But…it's almost midnight and you can't have a proper toast without champagne," the red Dino ranger argued.

"Yes you can. It's called sparkling cider," Tommy refuted, as he handed a glass of sparkling cider to Tori and a glass of champagne to Hunter.

"Hey…how come Hunter gets the good stuff?" Ethan whined.

"Hunter is twenty-one, you guys aren't," Tommy said, rolling his eyes, as he heard Adam and Rocky cracking up at his predicament.

"Tommy, it's not like they're going far after this. It's just one glass," Rocky said.

"You're a cop Rocky. Of all the people in this room, you should agree with me," Tommy replied.

"I should, but it's too much fun watching you be lame now," Rocky retorted.

"Yeah, back in the day, we used to sneak my dad's beer all the time. Rocko's right, you're lame now, teach," Jason joked. Tommy huffed.

"Kim…" he whined and she rolled her eyes.

"He's trying to be responsible, stop trying to corrupt him. He starts to get whiny when it's past his bedtime" Kim teased, earning an offended look from her husband.

"I'm just teasing handsome," she promised sweetly, as Jason cracked up.

"I forgot…Dr. O has a bedtime now," Jason teased.

"And you've had too much of Rocky's eggnog. You're getting giggly," Trini teased.

"I don't giggle…that's not something a red does," Jason argued.

"Oh hey yeah, the eggnog is spiked too. Let me try it," Conner said, as Rocky poured him a glass.

"No Rocky," Tommy warned.

"Sorry kid, Dr. Oliver says no. Too bad the cool Tommy we knew in high school isn't here," Rocky teased. Tommy rolled his eyes. He wasn't annoyed really. He actually had really missed all the crap they tended to give each other when they were together. It was like old times again.

"Hurry up…it's almost midnight!" Dustin called in excitement, as he grabbed two glasses of sparkling cider for him and Marah.

"So…Dr. O was actually cool back in the day? What happened?" Conner asked Rocky.

"Conner…" Tommy said, in his teacher voice.

"Come on Dino boy, let's go over here before you get killed," Kira said, tugging him away.

"But I want to hear more stories from Rocky and Adam," Conner whined. Tommy shot a look at the former red and black rangers.

"What stories?" Tommy asked. Rocky tried not to spit out his eggnog laughing and Adam practically choked on the cookie he was eating. Tommy rolled his eyes and held up his hand.

"Never mind, it's probably best I don't know," he said, as he poured some sparkling cider from Kim and Tanya, since they were both expecting and then finished off the rest of the glasses with champagne.

"Okay everyone…it's almost midnight, which means Christmas is here. Let's toast to family, friends, and the New Year that will be upon us in just one week," Trini called.

"Yeah, this is only the first of many ranger reunions, we hope," Kimberly added.

"Here's to us…" Jason said, raising his glass.

"To friends and family," Aisha added.

"To the power," Tommy said.

"And to Zordon, without whom none of us would be here," Rocky finished the toast. The clock on the wall over the bar chimed midnight, as everyone drank and those who were with someone exchanged a kiss with their significant other. Hugs and laughter filled the coffeehouse well into the night, promising that a bond had been formed and solidified into something that truly would stand the test of time.

"Merry Christmas…handsome…" Kimberly said, as she kissed him.

"Merry Christmas beautiful," Tommy replied, as he rested his hand on her pregnant belly.

"Just think, next Christmas will be our baby's first," she reminded. He grinned.

"I can't wait," he said, as their lips met again.

* * *

"What are you thinking?" Hunter asked, as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, noticing the pensive look on her face. She shrugged.

"About everything I guess," she replied.

"Your parents?" he asked. She nodded.

"Something has been bothering me lately about their behavior, but I don't want to talk about that right now, because I was also thinking about how happy I am," she replied, as she put her arms around him.

"Even though your parents are missing another Christmas with you?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I thought I would be thinking that, but I guess I didn't expect them to be home anyway. I know that sounds terrible, but I think I'm just starting to accept it and that I can be okay with it, because I have you. I know that you're always going to be here," she replied. He gave her a lazy smile.

"You're right…I will be, no matter what," he promised. She smiled.

"Merry Christmas thunder boy,"

"Merry Christmas gorgeous,"

Their lips met passionately again, beneath the mistletoe, with their ranger family around them.

* * *

_That's it for this story, though this was simply a precursor to other stories I have planned to follow in this series. They will move more slowly than this one did and I won't begin working on any sequels to this one until sometime after the New Year. But look for the sequel in 2013. I hope you enjoyed this story and please let me know what you think. _


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